This story was last updated on Jan. 29 at 6:00 pm

AMS Special Assembly to be held Thursday to determine next year’s AMS executive

In Li’s statement on Monday, she said the AMS Judicial Committee determined “the President has the authority to call a Special Assembly with 48 hours’ notice to appoint a new Executive.”

“There shall be an open call for nominations to all AMS members, and interested teams of candidates will be asked to send their full names and student numbers to the AMS Secretary by Thursday, February 1 at 6pm,” the statement read.

“Assembly shall seek to appoint a qualified team to the Executive. If the outcome of the vote for Executive team is negative or if there is an absence of a qualified Executive team, Assembly may appoint qualified persons to each of the Executive positions.”

In the statement, Li urged the assembly to “appoint a qualified team immediately.”

“The AMS operates with very tight hiring and transition timelines. A new election will not just create more uncertainty for the students who want to work or volunteer with the AMS next year, it will also affect our ability to conduct a thorough transition for all staff positions,” she wrote.

AMS Judicial Committee makes ruiling

On Jan. 28, the AMS Judicial Committee met to interpret the AMS Constitution regarding next steps following Team ECN’s dissolution.

AMS Secretary Neil Sengupta formally requested the Judicial Committee interpret the Elections and Referenda Policy Manual to determine how to address the now-empty executive ballot.

The committee found either the current President or either of the current Vice-Presidents may at any point call a special meeting of the AMS Assembly to appoint “qualified persons” to fill the executive positions.

According to the ruling, Assembly will be asked to appoint a cohesive qualified team rather than individual members.

However, the ruling reads that “if the outcome of the vote for the executive team in question is negative or if there is an absence of a qualified executive team, assembly may appoint qualified persons to each of the executive positions.”

The ruling also notes the Assembly has the authority to defer judgment of the appointment to a new election period. If Assembly should decide to have the student body vote on their appointed team, a new 16-day condensed election period will occur.

This Judicial Committee ruling was unanimous and is binding as per the AMS Constitution.

Kornak drops out of race

According to an email sent out Sunday evening, Team ECN has dissolved their campaign following Vice-Presidential candidate Natasha Kornak’s withdrawal of her candidacy. 

As per the AMS Constitution, the candidates for President and Vice-Presidents shall run as a team. As a result of her withdrawal, there’s no team on the ballot, which opens tomorrow.

Chief Returning Officer Sarah Obsonwain wrote in the email that the AMS is “awaiting Judicial Committee interpretation to determine next steps.”

The Journal will update this story as more information becomes available.