The Oxford Students’ Union (SU) has announced the results of its 2026 election. Roxi Rusu, who ran unopposed, has been elected President for Communities and Common Rooms. Zagham Farhan was elected President for Undergraduates alongside David Quan, who was elected President for Postgraduates. Catherine Kola-Balogun will be the new President for Welfare, Equity, and Inclusion.
The elections saw a turnout of 2,862 individual voters. Although this is higher than the turnout for last year’s elections, which was 1,471, this year’s turnout is significantly lower than the 2024 election, which had a turnout of 4,206. The SU represents 26,000 matriculated students at the University.
The incumbent President for Postgraduates, Wantoe T. Wantoe, who stood for re-election on a platform of continuity, was unsuccessful. Alisa Brown, the incumbent President for Welfare, Equity, and Inclusion, was also not re-elected despite having stood for the unpaid position of Student Trustee.
The election occurred amid concerns about the SU’s ability to carry out its democratic functions. At the end of last term, the Conference of Common Rooms – the SU’s main representative body – was unable to pass a motion due to insufficient participation from college JCRs. At the time, an Oxford SU spokesperson told Cherwell: “On this occasion, voting did not reach quoracy (30 common rooms) for this vote to be carried.”
Rusu ran unopposed on the promise of connecting Common Rooms, societies, the local community, and individuals through a shared contact list and calendar, and more informal social events. This is the first time in recent years that this role, which took over many of the responsibilities of the abolished SU sole presidency, has seen a candidate elected unopposed. Last year, two people ran for this role.
Farhan, who ran his campaign with Quan and Morris, aims to “demand more” and promises to fight for a “serious external review into the sexual misconduct processes, greater disability support, [and] an online library capacity tracker”. This follows the recent probes by the media into the University’s mishandling of sexual misconduct cases. Quan, whose manifesto is built on the idea of “#OneOxford”, will undertake to advance “student food support” and “hardship transparency”.
Quan, Farhan, and Henry Morris ran in a slate called “Demand More”, as joint campaigns are now allowed by SU Election Regulations. Morris ran for President for Welfare, Equity, and Inclusion, and was not elected. The slate was supported by various student political groups, including Oxford Labour Club and the Oxford Students Liberal Association.
Kola-Balogun’s campaign aims to “push for Welfare that Works, Equity that Delivers, and Inclusion that Lasts”. She has worked as JCR Access Officer at St Hilda’s, was the President of Oxford Law Society, and is a current Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach Ambassador.
Commenting on his unsuccessful re-election bid, Wantoe told Cherwell: “For me, this election was never about a title. It was about raising the standard of postgraduate representation. That work continues, and I remain deeply committed to it.”
Speaking about his successor, Wantoe added: “David is passionate and experienced, and I am confident he will bring energy and commitment to the role. I will ensure a smooth and comprehensive transition, sharing insight into ongoing committee work and institutional processes so that progress continues without disruption.”
A number of part-time officers, which are voluntary representative roles, were elected as well. Valerie Mann was reelected as LGBTQ+ Officer. Sthapatya Saketh Kotamraju was elected International Students’ Officer, alongside Regn Pooley, who was elected Disabled Students’ Officer, and Janet Wang, who was elected Societies Officer.
Apart from the International Students’ Officer role, all ran unopposed. The SU will hold by-elections for six roles, as no one was nominated to stand, including Class and BAME Officers. These officer roles are the primary form of advocacy within the SU for underrepresented communities, following the SU’s decision to discontinue student campaigns as part of its transformation period.
Alisa Brown, Honcques Laus, and Isabel Hetherington were elected as Student Trustees, a two-year, unpaid position. The Oxford SU Trustee board oversees the SU and has overall legal responsibility for the charity.
This was the first set of elections for the four Presidential roles, who will take up their roles in July. Last year, the four positions were elected as Officers, and were later renamed ‘President’. The SU leadership used to comprise six full time sabbatical officers. However, after a transformation period in 2024-25, this was replaced by the current flat structure with four sabbatical officers.
A spokesperson for the SU said: “We have been delighted to see so many students engaging with the SU Leadership elections and thank all students who took the time to run for and vote for all roles, at a time where democracy and representation matter more than ever. We look forward to welcoming the President Elects to their roles in July 2026.”
The story will be updated as voting numbers for each candidate are published later today.
Reporting by Mercedes Haas, Archie Johnston, Arina Makarina, Gaspard Rouffin, and Stanley Smith.
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