Photo by Amanda Erickson/The Griff

The two candidates share concern over by-election decision, SAMU says 

Two candidates named Nathan Poon expressed frustration with SAMU’s decision to hold a by‑election for the 2026‑2027 executive committee, after claiming to have spoken to elections officials about potential ballot confusion during the initial executive committee election.

Incumbent president Nathan N. Poon said he raised concerns to both SAMU and the election’s chief returning officer, Josh Stock, sometime before the election. 

Stock allegedly acknowledged Nathan N. Poon’s concern and indicated it would be looked into. 

“I do understand that these situations are complex, and I appreciate the efforts made to manage the process, Nathan N. Poon said. “However, given that the issue was known in advance, it sort of raised important questions about how it was addressed and whether there are opportunities to resolve it before it impacted the election outcome.”  

According to Nathan N. Poon, student elections sometimes see siblings or relatives running for different positions, but two candidates with the same first and last legal name running in the same election is unprecedented in SAMU electoral history. 

The unofficial election results showed a landslide win for Poon, who received twice as many votes as the second-place candidate, Olad Ayodeji. 

“I do understand that these situations are complex, and I appreciate the efforts made to manage the process. However, given that the issue was known in advance, it sort of raised important questions about how it was addressed and whether there are opportunities to resolve it before it impacted the election outcome.” 

— Nathan N. Poon, incumbent SAMU president

“Yeah, I think this decision raises serious concerns about fairness and democratic integrity,” Nathan N. Poon said. 

“There was a clear election result which was overturned due to a circumstance that was entirely outside of any candidate’s control.” 

The decision for a by-election was made after SAMU’s government investigation and reinstatement committee (GIRC) concluded its investigation of the two Nathan Poon’s. 

“But what I can say about my campaign is that I followed all of the bylaws, policies and procedures, and there were no findings that I violated any rules or policies or procedures,” Nathan N. Poon said. 

“So this wasn’t a case of misconduct. It was a situation arising from two individuals sharing the same name, and overturning a democratic election result because of that is something that, in my opinion, it’s unjustified and it’s unethical.” 

In an email to The Griff, Alan Honey, SAMU’s governance advisor, wrote that he cannot speak on GIRC’s behalf, but the committee will share its investigation report with the students’ council once it has been compiled. 

Honey also said that CRO Stock reached out to Elections Canada for guidance, asking how Elections Canada has handled similar situations. 

After receiving feedback, Stock decided that position headings would serve to distinguish the two candidates on election ballots. 

First-time candidate Nathan R. Poon ran for vice-president (governance & finance). He said he did not raise concerns with the CRO, but that he spoke to SAMU governance advisor Alan Honey and Nathan N. Poon, where they suggested including middle-name initials on ballots and even joked about their shared names. 

“Candidates were informed they were allowed to use their legal name or preferred name that was registered with MacEwan University on the ballot, and if they wished, they could insert a middle name or initial,” Honey wrote.

If the two candidates were running for the same position, the ruling would have been different, he added. 

Honey stated that candidates were informed about Stock’s decision on Feb. 25. According to clauses 44 and 44.1 of the Elections and Referenda Procedure, candidates or any member of SAMU has 48 hours to appeal the CRO’s decision after it was made. 

Honey confirmed that no candidate appealed the decision, nor asked to include their middle name or initial on the ballot. 

Nathan R. Poon, according to unofficial election results, squeaked out a win by 76 votes, beating re-election hopeful Andrei Santiago. He said it is difficult to go through the election process again. 

“Yeah, it is just a tough situation, because when you’re in such a high pressure situation, and you see that you are the successful candidate, and then a by-election is proposed and ruled that there will be a by-election, is really frustrating, because you have to go through that, all that process as a student, when there’s midterms, there’s finals coming up in the next, three, four weeks, so it makes it really difficult for us to handle that,” Nathan R. Poon said. 

Nathan R. Poon said he is frustrated by the decision to run a by-election, which he believes could have been avoided if SAMU had included measures in the election ballots to further differentiate between the two Poons.