Rules and Regulations

1.1. Roehampton Students’ Union elections are conducted in line with University of Roehampton regulations, RSU policies and Bye-laws, and these rules and regulations. Candidates and their campaign teams must always adhere to these.

1.2. The elections will be overseen by the Returning Officer. The Returning Officer will delegate day-to-day responsibility to the Deputy Returning Officer.

1.3. The Returning Officer reserves the right to postpone or stop the Election at any time if they believe the Election is not being conducted in a free and fair manner.

1.4. All students have the right to vote in secrecy and free from influence exerted by candidates or their campaign teams.

1.5. Candidates are responsible for the actions of their campaign teams and will be held personally responsible if a member of their campaign team is subject to a complaint or breach of the RSU Election Rules and Regulations.

1.6. Student Leadership Elections will be conducted through an online election software hosted on the SU website.

1.7. All active student groups must participate in Student Leadership Elections; no other form of election will be accepted.

1.8. Re-open nominations (RON) shall be a candidate for all positions.

2.1. For Sabbatical Officer roles, only current University of Roehampton students and Sabbatical Officers in their first year of office are eligible to stand in Student Leadership Elections.

2.2. For student group committee roles, only students that are not in their final year of study and hold a valid standard membership to that group can stand in Student Leadership Elections.

2.3. For student group committee positions, only students who hold a valid standard membership to that group can vote in Student Leadership Elections.

2.4. To ensure the fairness of voting, no student group memberships will be sold during the campaigning and voting period. This is to prevent memberships from being purchased purely to vote en masse for candidates.

2.5. Students with the following circumstances may not stand for any position:

i. Students who have previously been removed as an officer.
ii. Students who have been summarily dismissed from employment with RSU.
iii. Students who are banned from Union or University spaces.

2.6. Any student who is undergoing a disciplinary investigation may have their right to stand revoked at any time if the result of the investigation would not have allowed the student to stand as per the eligibility outlined in the rules and regulations, up to and including the commencement of the role.

3.1. The official campaigning period begins at 11:00 on Monday 9 March 2026 and will close at 11:00 on Thursday 19 March 2026. No campaigning, either online or in-person, is permitted before this time. Candidates are, however, able to discuss their candidacy informally with friends and students before the official campaigning period begins.

3.2. Candidates will be required to submit a manifesto in a format determined by the Deputy Returning Officer. The details and limitations will be communicated at the point of nominations going live. Any manifesto submitted must be in line with the Students’ Union’s values.

3.3. For Sabbatical Officer elections, all candidates must attend a mandatory 121 with the Chief Executive or delegated SU staff member by the deadline provided; otherwise, their nomination will be withdrawn.

3.4. All candidates are required to attend a candidate briefing to ensure they understand the Election Rules and Regulations.

3.5. Candidates and their campaign teams are prohibited from campaigning in spaces which are likely to result in disruption to campus life. The following spaces are strictly forbidden. Additional spaces may be added to this list, and candidates will be updated as relevant.
i. Library
ii. Elm Grove Conference Centre
iii. Any Chaplaincy and associated spaces

3.6. Candidates must obtain permission from relevant members of staff before posting any campaign materials, including posters. This applies to both physical and virtual spaces.

3.7. Candidates and their campaign teams must not interfere with, remove or tamper with other candidates’ promotional materials under any circumstances.

3.8. To reduce waste and promote sustainability, candidates can print a maximum of 50 A4 pages for their promotional materials. Additional printing is not permitted, irrespective of whether this comes from your campaign budget or your own funds/resources.

3.9. All printed and physical assets must be removed by candidates no later than four calendar days after the close of voting. Posters not removed by the required deadline will not be reimbursed.

3.10. Candidates and their campaign teams must not bribe, impersonate, or harass any student throughout the election.

3.11. Candidates and their campaign teams must not attack other candidates in a derogatory or inflammatory manner in any way. Discussion and debates are permitted provided they are conducted constructively and respectfully.

3.12. Candidates and members of their campaign team must allow voters the opportunity to cast their vote in private, and under no circumstances must votes be cast on a voter’s behalf. For the avoidance of doubt, this prohibits touching personal devices (including mobile phones) that the voter may use to cast their vote; asking voters to use your devices; and candidates should remain a reasonable distance apart from the voter when they are voting.

3.13. Digital lecture chat functions, and any other forms of group communication are prohibited without permission of the lecturer or organiser.

3.14. Announcements by a candidate at the beginning or end of a lecture (lecture shout outs) are prohibited.

3.15. Mass ‘send to all’ emails and misuse of Outlook’s address book are prohibited.

3.16. Candidates are allowed to use social media or digital communication chat functions, mailing lists, and other forms of group communication only if they have collected consent to be contacted from those individuals during the campaign period and the group was formed for the sole purpose of campaigning in this election.

3.17. All publicity must be in English only.

4.1. Campaign materials are permitted to reference the Students’ Union, the University, and the Colleges, but must not display their logos (apart from the SU-provided Elections marque).

4.2. Candidates may not endorse other candidates and must campaign as individuals. This includes running on a slate. For the avoidance of doubt, running on a slate refers to when candidates campaign together as a group.

4.3. Student groups are encouraged to provide opportunities for candidates to engage with their members and can endorse full-time Sabbatical Officer candidates, provided they offer the same opportunity to all officer candidates in equal measure.

4.4. Student Groups are prohibited from endorsing candidates running for a student group committee position.

4.5. Students’ Union, University of Roehampton, and College staff are prohibited from endorsing any candidates in any capacity. Student staff can show support or join a campaign team for a particular candidate, provided this is not whilst working for the Students’ Union or wearing any SU uniform.

5.1. Candidates for full-time Sabbatical Officer roles will be provided with a campaign budget and are allowed to spend up to £20, which will be reimbursed by the Students’ Union.

5.2. Candidates must submit an Elections Budget and Expenses Form no later than one hour after voting closes. Receipts must be produced for all expenses (including social media promotions).

5.3. Any printing costs, including the University printer, must be accounted for within the candidate budget and a receipt must be produced clearly outlining the cost.

5.4. Candidates for Sabbatical Officer roles are not permitted to spend additional money outside of the allocated campaign budget, to ensure all candidates have an equal campaigning experience.

5.5. Candidates for student groups are not allocated a campaigning budget.

5.6. Candidates who already hold an elected or appointed position with the Students’ Union (Sabbatical Officer or Student Group Committee) are prohibited from using Student Group or Students’ Union time, funds or resources (including official social media accounts) for their own campaign or that of another candidate.

5.7. Candidates may not accept material sponsorship from any source to assist with their campaign that would not have been available to other candidates unless it is accounted for in their budget.

6.1. All complaints must be submitted within 24 hours of the alleged incident, and no later than one hour after voting closes, via the official complaints and appeals form.

6.2. Any complaints received later than one hour after voting closes will not be investigated as part of the elections process. Instead, they may be investigated through the Union’s Complaints Policy and Procedure.

6.3. Only completed complaints and appeals form will be considered by the Returning Officer or Deputy Returning Officer.

6.4. Anonymous complaints of any kind will not be considered.

6.5. All complaints will be investigated by the Deputy Returning Officer, who will consider the facts and make an appropriate decision based on the evidence provided and the outcomes of an investigation. This ruling will be communicated to all parties involved and included in the annual Returning Officers’ Elections Report.

6.6. Any decisions made by the Deputy Returning Officer can be appealed through the complaints and appeals form.. Appeals must include factual information as to why the original decision is considered unjust. Appeals can only be submitted by those impacted.

6.7. Both the Returning Officer and Deputy Returning Officer are empowered to investigate any matters related to the election, infringement of election rules or complaints regarding candidate or campaign team conduct. If they find that there has been an infringement, they may: i. Warn the candidate that any future breaches will result in further sanctions
ii. Issue a campaigning suspension
iii. Issue an indefinite suspension of a campaign pending disqualification
iv. Disqualify the candidate, order a re-run

6.8. The Returning Officer’s decisions and interpretation of the Election Rules and Regulations are final.