It happens every year that newly elected candidates decide they don’t want to sit on the council after all, says Niels Harteman, secretary of the Central Elections Office. After the most recent university elections in May, nine elected candidates – five students and four staff members – changed their minds. They are not required to give a reason. “But with students you hear they’re going abroad, don’t have the time after all, or have finished their studies here.” For staff, a lack of time or a new job can play a part.
It’s unclear why the five FPN students didn’t take their seats, says Michael Capalbo, chair of the FPN Faculty Council. “They just vanished – we haven’t heard from them since.” The next candidates in line had never intended to join the council: “They were deliberately placed on the list only to endorse, for example because they’re now doing a master’s at another university.”
To ensure student voices are still heard, the FPN Council has appointed two student advisers. They are allowed to attend closed meetings and ask questions, but they can’t vote. “This means that if a few council members can’t make it to the meeting, we officially don’t have a quorum, and someone could challenge the validity of a vote”, explains Capalbo. “It’s not inconceivable. We can manage, but it’s a highly undesirable situation.”
To prevent this from happening again, Capalbo plans to be more involved with the student lists ahead of the May 2026 elections. “It’s normally up to the students, of course, but I will ask whether they have enough candidates and whether those candidates genuinely want a seat. If the answer is no, I might suggest merging two lists. Is it ideal for me, as a staff member and chair, to do this? No, absolutely not. But it’s better than ending up with two empty seats again.”
FPN is not the only faculty dealing with this phenomenon. Last year, a student seat at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences also remained vacant for most of the year because the elected candidate didn’t have time after all. The next two candidates in line had either taken on another, conflicting role or couldn’t be reached.