Let the Scandal Continue

If you thought real life could never be as scandalous as television shows such as EastEnders or Coronation Street, then you have it wrong (and need to get out of the house a lot more). From plans of sabotage, to dirty looks and outright nastiness, the University of Leicester’s 2013 Student Union Elections had it all. Next year’s International Officer, first year student Anastasia Mamaeva tells The Tab all the dirty details that come with the world of politics.

Anastasia’s campaign poster

 Electra Siafakas (ES): Do you think all candidates competed fairly?

Anastasia Mamaeva (AM): Not at all. I found people trying to sabotage my campaign. There was even a rumour that one of my competitors had created a Facebook page under the title, ‘Don’t Vote for Anastasia.’

ES: What was the nastiest thing you heard/saw someone do during the campaigning?

AM: One of the supporters of a different candidate, Duane, came to my booth and pretended to be a supporter of mine and took 30 of my promotional stickers claiming that she would share them amongst her friends to help support me. She then proceeded to rip them up in my face, throw them in the garbage, smiled and walked away. That really didn’t help as I was on a budget of 100 pounds for my campaign, but it also made me happy because it meant I was a threat to Duane. Duane even went as far as trying to get my friends and boyfriend to turn their backs on me and get them to vote for him.

ES: What happened when you won?

AM: Some candidates refused to shake my hand in the spirit of good sportsmanship. For days afterwards, I would get dirty looks from both candidates.

ES: What do you think of the student union generally?

AM: If I have a problem, I won’t go to the student union. It’s a well known name- everybody knows it but they don’t know what it can do for them.

She also added ‘the elections were based on a popularity vote. It wasn’t based on the candidates’ policies, but on connections.’