Independent Electoral Commission Decision upon Kayode Fatoba KF08
Complainant : Eric Hadekaer
Respondent : Kayode Fatoba
Issues : Use of Society Resources, Campaigning in SFSS space Decision : $5 fine payable to the SFSS Foodbank
Appeal outcome : Infraction and fine dismissed
Reasons
[1] On March 17th we received a link to a post from Kayode Fatoba on the SFSS Spring Jam event page from March 16th 11:09 PM stating : “Hope you’re all excited for the second year of a new culture #SFU”. [2] In the SFSS Policy Manual, R11: Elections and Referenda: 10
With the exception of Referenda questions, Society resources, including the time of staff and Board members, may not be used for the purposes of campaigning. [3] As per the Candidate Handbook Page 12, Permissible Locations
Campaign Materials may not be posted in Student Society Offices & Spaces [4] As the Facebook event page for a Student Society event counts as both a society resource and a society space.
[5] As the statement could be considered ambiguous as to what “the second year of a new culture” means. [6] As Kayode has several existing infractions [7] The IEC considered a warning to be insufficient. A fine of $5 payable to the SFSS Food bank was deemed appropriate.
[8] On March 19, Kayode requested a hearing which was held on March 20 at 11:30 a.m. [9] Kayode objected to this infraction as he felt that it limited his ability to do his job as VP Student Life and sell tickets for the Spring Jam. He reiterated previous statements made about communication issues and the IEC’s approach to infractions. Kayode felt that most people were in agreement with the spirit of his statement, especially because it was posted in an SFSS specific Facebook page. Kayode noted that fellow presidential candidate Zied Masmoudi had also posted in the group. Kayode also raised concerns around the legitimacy of the complaint as it came from a fellow presidential candidate. [10] CEO Sanchez felt that Zied’s posts were not as ambiguous and were clearly about ticket pricing, delineating the distinction between the two individuals. He reiterated that a complaint from a student is legitimate whether they are a candidate or not. CEO Sanchez agreed that a fine was potentially excessive. On its own, it would have merely been a conversation with Kayode but given several other issues around miscommunication the result was different. [11] After the hearing, Commissioners Chu, Shepherd, and Turdeanu deliberated on the matter, while CEO Sanchez recorded minutes of the proceeding. The three commissioners deliberated. Shepherd and Chu were in favor of dismissing the infraction, while Turdeanu was conditional on it being made clear to Kayode that miscommunication and negligence was not an acceptable excuse for this type of infraction.