This post was updated on May 4 at 6:05 p.m.
Voter turnout in this year’s barely-contested graduate student government election dropped to about 8 percent, the lowest since 2012.
The Bruins Proud slate took all four Graduate Students Association officer positions, only one of which was contested. The GSA Elections Board certified the election results Monday afternoon, and the results must now approved by a majority vote of the GSA forum, said Patrick Adler, GSA elections commissioner.
UCLA School of Law student Milan Chatterjee, who currently serves as GSA vice president of internal affairs position, won the GSA president seat.
As president, Chatterjee said he hopes to organize more GSA-sponsored events among different graduate schools, make GSA funding processes more accessible for students and revamp the student interest board, which represents non-academic student groups. He added that he wants to make sure all departments are better represented in GSA and make GSA more responsive to diversity interests.
In the sole contested position for vice president of external affairs, economics graduate student Andres Schneider took about 67 percent of the vote, winning over law student Matthew FitzGerald. Schneider is an incumbent.
Public health graduate student Chiao-Wen Lan won the vice president of internal affairs seat. Anderson School of Management student Joel Lanzaga won the vice president of academic affairs seat.
Last election, voter turnout increased to 13 percent and six candidates on two slates competed for positions. Unlike in the undergraduate student government election, GSA slates tend to vary every year.
This year, about 946 students voted out of about 11,580 eligible voters. Alder said he expected the low turnout since most of the positions were uncontested this year.
The Election Board was expected to announce the information last week, but didn’t after FitzGerald said he planned to appeal the result of a complaint he filed. FitzGerald, however, said he chose not file an appeal in the past week because of personal reasons.
The next GSA forum will take place Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in the Ackerman Viewpoint Lounge.
Compiled by Su Jung Hahn, Bruin contributor.