7:00 PM

Thanks for joining us!

And on that note, let's wrap things up here. Thanks for joining us today, and join us tomorrow for Day 2 of Election Week!

5:50 PM

Community well-positioned to win re-election

Day 1 of the campaign was a strong showing for Community, with the ticket dominating in engagement with students through the sheer number of their campaigners. Community's controversies appear not to have had an impact on the ground, with Together lagging behind Community in voter engagement, due to their lower number of volunteers.

5:10 PM

Voting closes at Parkville

Voting has now closed in Parkville campus. Campaigners regrouped around the Amphitheatre at 5:00pm before shortly packing up and leaving. It looks like the first day of campaign has wrapped up.

4:55 PM

Beiraghi instigates interaction with Jenkins

Students for Palestine convener and Socialist Action candidate Bella Beiraghi seemingly attempted to instigate a fight with Together presidential candidate Lottie Jenkins at Amphitheatre at 4:45. "Don't ever say you're for Palestine!", she was heard yelling to Jenkins. Jenkins acknowledged Beiraghi but walked away, maintaining a composed smile. Jenkins is a member of the Greens.

Farrago has heard credible reports of a similar incident instigated by Beiraghi at Baillieu Library, but has not yet been able to independently verify the account.

4:40 PM

Jeff asks: How does everyone take this so seriously and when will it be over.... GOD HELP ME

Hi Jeff, voting is open from Monday to Friday this week, and will close on Friday 5:00pm at Building 168 and Baillieu.

4:15 PM

UMSU President does two (2) cartwheels

UMSU President Lushy Chinganya shocked Farrago by doing TWO cartwheels at the Amphitheatre at approximately 4:10pm today. Community has yet to respond.

4:03 PM

Elizabeth asks: Why are some Community candidates bashing Labor-Left aligned Together candidates when Community is largely aligned with Labor-Right?

Hi Elizabeth, the simplest explanation is that clashes between Labor Left and Labor Right-aligned candidates are often heated as student union elections are more so than not framed around political ideology and social issues, rather than traditional party politics. While publicly, Labor factions are expected to present a united front, within university contexts, anything is fair game. Well... within the limits of what is acceptable. As student union elections are about ideological issues, rather than party politics, interactions between students in Labor Left and Right in student union elections can often be... interesting?

​

For the hacks who are reading this blog, feel free to leave a simpler explanation on our questions form.

3:30 PM

Returning Officer addresses technical difficulties

The Returning Officer Stephen Luntz told Farrago about technical difficulties reported at some polling booths. According to Luntz, some laptops may occasionally "drop out" at random intervals, but reassured voters that voting as a whole remains smooth. According to Luntz, such technical difficulties should be solved by tomorrow through "redundancy".

3:10 PM

Amphitheatre empty

The Amphitheatre appears to be mostly empty, with very few campaigners present. Farrago can now officially declare that Building 168 is the safest place to vote for those of you who are socially anxious.

2:55 PM

Diminished Together presence at Baillieu

Together campaigners are almost completely absent from Baillieu Library. Only three Together campaigners are present at Baillieu, completely drowned out by Community, Socialist Action and Progress.

2:42 PM

Jenkins courts Chinese language voters

Away from the main events at Building 168 and Baillieu, Together presidential candidate Lottie Jenkins is making inroads among Chinese language voters around the FBE Building, amassing a small crowd at Melbourne Law School at 2:15, as well as other small groups of students. Her trick? Despite coming from a Western background, she is a Mandarin speaker, having grown up in Hong Kong and Singapore.

2:30 PM

FBE Building voting operational

Farrago has learnt that voting at the Faculty of Business and Economics Building was disrupted between approximately 1:00pm and 1:30pm due to technical difficulties with computers at the voting booths. The problem has been fixed, and students can now once again cast their ballots at FBE. 

1:36 PM

Campaigners slacking on duty

Bored campaigners have dispersed from Amphitheatre, despite a large number of students who have gathered around for lunch. While a few straggling campaigners remain, most appear to be slacking, chitchatting and going on their phones. Most of Community's campaign volunteers have gone off, leaving only a few from Together, Independent Media, the Independent Artists Co-operative, and Socialist Action. 

12:35 PM

Clubs and societies endorse tickets

This morning, Community announced a range of endorsements from various clubs and societies, following a rush of endorsements for Together yesterday. So far, endorsements for Together include Habitat for Humanity, Sexpression, the Swifties' Society, the Greens Club, the Creative Literature and Writing Society, and the Pokemon Observation, Knowledge and Evolution Nation. Today's endorsements for Community include the Bollywood Club, the Pakistani Society, the Punjabi Student Association, the Bangladeshi Student Society, the Indian Graduate Student Society, the Iranian Society, and the Construction Students Association.

More controversially, Community has also embraced an endorsement from the UniMelb branch of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA), which itself has drawn controversy for Community. The national CSSA—which the UniMelb branch is an affiliate of— has deep rooted ties to the Chinese embassy, as reported by the ABC, which has raised domestic safety concerns for Chinese dissidents, and critics of Beijing. In June's session of Student Council, President Lushy Chinganya raised concerns over Motika's apparently closely association with the CSSA, and whether this relationship constituted a breach given the Council's focus on the CSSA's disaffiliation from Clubs and Societies.

12:00 PM

Voting opens at the FBE Building

Polling has now opened at the Faculty of Business and Economics Building (Building 105). Fellow JD students, this will be the closest place for you to vote!

11:55 AM

Motika speaks to Independent Media campaigner

According to a campaigner for Independent Media, they were approached by Community presidential candidate and General Secretary Daniel Motika, who was reportedly confused about their affiliation, mistaking the text on their campaign shirt for "Together". Farrago did not witness the unusual event.

11:43 AM

Community and Socialist Action leaders briefly convene at Amphitheatre

A small crowd of Community and Socialist Action campaigners briefly convened at Amphitheatre at approximately 11:32. Among the small crowd was Community's General Secretary and presidential candidate Daniel Motika, Students for Palestine national convener Bella Beiraghi, and Amaya Castro Williams, who is Community's candidate for Environment OB.

Castro Williams is running for Environment under the Community ticket, as well as other committee positions under the Socialist Action ticket. While this move by Socialist Action and Community has received substantial criticism, it is permitted under the UMSU electoral regulations.

11:22 AM

Socialist Action decries Together Labor campaigners

Campaigners from Socialist Action, who are affiliated with Socialist Alternative, appear to be telling voters not to vote for Together, on the basis that it is affiliated with Labor. Farrago understands that Socialist Action has formed a coalition agreement with Community, which includes a joint caucus.

Community is operated by the traditionally conservative SDA sub-faction of Labor Right. Together comprises a broad progressive coalition of Labor, Greens, and politically unaffiliated members. In one minor altercation at 11:05, Together Education (Public) OB candidate Toby Putland rebutted such a claim made by a Socialist Action campaigner to a student, telling them "just don't vote for Community!"

11:05 AM

1 hour in

We're now one hour into the election, and students are heading out of class. Most students appear to be ignoring campaigners at Baillieu Library. Community and Socialist Action, who have the most campaigners here, appear to be having the most traction with voters.

10:55 AM

(Election) Business as usual at Baillieu

It's business at usual (by election standards) at Baillieu Library. While the number of voters at Baillieu Library appears to be visibly smaller than Building 168, campaigners appear to be more concentrated outside. Passersby, beware!

10:37 AM

Polls open at Baillieu Library

Polls have officially opened at Baillieu Library. As students prepare to cast their votes at Baillieu, things seem to be proceeding smoothly at Building 168.

10:30 AM

Campaigners mobilise around Building 168

Farrago has officially made it to Building 168! Voters have gathered inside to line up to vote, where everything seems to be in order. Campaigners have gathered outside the building, with people from Community, Together, and Socialist Action (Socialist Alternative). Minor ticket Progress is also present. Community has a visibly dominant number of campaigners outside the building.

10:00 AM

Polling underway

Voting is now officially underway, with polls opening in Parkville campus! Voting has now opened in Building 168, while polls will open at Baillieu Library at 10:30am, and the FBE Building (Building 105) at 12:00pm.

9:00 AM

Welcome to our live election blog!

Good morning UniMelb, and welcome to Farrago's official blog for the 2026 UMSU elections, where we will keep you updated on current events through the week. Voting will open in Parkville campus today at 10:00am. Stay with us as we wait for polls to open!