Out of 532 valid votes cast in the ballot, candidate Rafael Labarca polled 13.5%; Víctor Parada, 10.5%; Ubaldo Zúñiga, 10.3%, and Ricardo Santander, 4.8%.
After the vote counting, Juan Manuel Zolezzi Cid, who will assume the highest institutional position between 2014 and 2018, highlighted the “fair campaign process” and he confirmed his commitment to “taking the University from its current good status to a higher one.”
Gustavo Robles, Universidad de Santiago’s General Secretary and President of the Electoral Board stressed that the Election Day was conducted in complete normality and respecting institutional policies.
A few minutes after 18:00 hours, Gustavo Robles, Universidad de Santiago’s General Secretary and President of the Electoral Board, made public the official results of the elections for Universidad de Santiago’s President that occurred on Tuesday 8th. In this process, Dr. Juan Manuel Zolezzi was the winner for the period 2014-2018.
The elected president will assume the highest institutional position for a third consecutive term after polling 232 votes, a 60.7% of the 532 valid votes cast in the ballot.
Candidate Rafael Labarca polled 13.5% of the vote (72 votes); Víctor Parada, 10.5% (56 votes); Ubaldo Zúñiga, 10.3% (55 votes); and Ricardo Santander, 4.8% (26 votes).
Following the vote counting and after an Election Day that strengthened the democratic and pluralistic principles that characterize this state and public university, Juan Manuel Zolezzi thanked his campaign team and said that the support he had in this election process “allows us to think big and take the University from its current good status to a higher one.”
“We hope that each member of this community feels part of the new administration that I will lead,” Dr. Zolezzi said.
The challenges of a new presidential term
When asked by U. the Santiago al Día about the main challenges of his new term as the University’s President, Juan Manuel Zolezzi said that the first task is to get “the institution accredited for the maximum possible period,” as the University is in the middle of the visit of the external peer reviewers and it aspires to the highest certification.
“We want to continue improving our facilities and our academic staff through new hiring, participation and projects, and to have a prominent role in strengthening public education in Chile,” Dr. Zolezzi added.
An organized and transparent election process
Gustavo Robles, Universidad de Santiago’s General Secretary and President of the Electoral Board, said the Election Day was “successful” and he assured that “it was developed in strict accordance with the law and the current applicable regulations governing internal elections.”
“This was an impeccable polling day, with no complaints and as an Electoral Board, we played our role as observers of this important democratic process,” Robles concluded.
Finally, the president of the Tricel, the Election Review Board, thanked everyone who made this election process at Universidad de Santiago “organized and transparent.”
Translated by Marcela Contreras