By Carla Adeline E. Via
Despite an increase in absentee voters this year, Grylle Adrian Malala and Antonio Jose Delica from the Concerted Action for the Upliftment of Students’ Endeavors (CAUSE) Party cemented their seats in the executive positions of the Silliman University Student Government (SUSG).
In the presidential race, Malala won with a total of 698 votes against independent candidate Franz Clement Selwyne Tero with 259 votes, according to the Committee on Elections (COMELEC) official vote count released on May 17.
Delicana, the lone candidate, is the newly-elected SUSG vice-president after receiving 734 total votes.
Meanwhile, all 52 college representative candidates from CAUSE Party secured their seats in the coming 35th Student Assembly after running unopposed.
Absentee voters hike
The SUSG COMELEC recorded 9,609 or 87.47 percent absentee voters from the 10,800 student population this year.
The turnout showed a 16-percent hike from the 71.4 percent absentee rate during last year’s elections. Over 2,900 students participated in the 2024 SUSG Elections.
Moreover, the poll body was only able to receive a total of 1,238 responses despite moving the deadline of the elections to 8:30 p.m. from its initial 7 p.m. closing.
The 2025 SUSG Elections were delayed following a series of indefinite postponement last May 7, 9, and 14 due to “internal lapses and delay in the conduct of the online COMELEC quiz course.”
The quiz course contains the virtual ballots where students can cast their votes via their MySOUL accounts.
According to their memorandum, there was a recurring issue with the Office of the Registrar with regards to the provision of “the necessary data for the SOUL system and virtual ballots.
Winners’ sentiments
Malala and Delicana, incumbent college representative and president of Ang Sandigan, respectively, both hail from the College of Mass Communication.
The tandem bannered their student-centered platforms during the campaign period and other pre-election activities.
Ahead of the election day, the president-elect shared his experience during the week-long campaign period, stating how “physically and mentally draining” it was.
“Sleepless nights, tiring days, and endless walks, these are a few of the many things that we need to go through to allow the students to know what our aspirations are for the upcoming school year,” Malala said.
He also emphasized the importance of keeping composure, respecting opinions, and understanding narratives.
“I believe that these three factors are integral to my position as your future standard bearer for me to effectively be able to assess situations calmly, view comments constructively, and get a greater comprehension as to how and why specific circumstances happen,” he said.
Meanwhile, Delicana also shared his insights during his journey towards student leadership, highlighting student body diversity and the importance of finding a common ground.
“Silliman is an institution full of people from different backgrounds, and that means we won’t always agree—but that’s okay. What matters is making certain everyone feels heard and included,” he furthered.
Malala and Delicana will serve full terms for the school year 2025 to 2026.
