Independent Candidate Hopes To Break Malta’s KSU Deadlock
University of Malta student Nicholas Martinelli will be contesting against Harley Mallia for the role of Culture and Entertainment Officer for the KSU Executive for the 2017/2018 term.
Up until he announced his candidature, SDM was all set to take over KSU without a vote for a second year running after rival student group Pulse dropped out of the race due to their disagreement over the ‘first past the post’ system of voting.
Martinelli is running under the slogan ‘A KSU for Everyone’, as he believes his campaign as an independent candidate shows that he’ll “put the needs of the student body before any other consideration”.
Some of the points on his manifesto include a more active role for international students in cultural events, morning yoga and fitness classes to boost mental health, a street art festival on campus and a revision of KSU’s policy and procedure when it comes to collaborations, to bring KSU down to the level of smaller student organisations.
Martinelli isn’t the first student to campaign independently, but he is the first to run against SDM since Pulse dropped out of even trying to contest last year.