The Cambridge Union’s election campaigns are underway, with the debating society seeing its highest number of contested positions since 2023.

Eight candidates are competing for five positions on the society’s standing committee for Michaelmas Term 2025. Union elections are held two terms before the successful candidates take office.

This term the positions of president, speakers officer, and social events officer are each contested by two candidates. Only the debates and equalities candidates are running unopposed. The past three election campaigns each had just one contested position.

Ivan Alexei Ampiah, the current speakers officer, and Christopher Lorde, the current equalities officer, are the two candidates running for the Michaelmas 2025 presidency.

Alexei Ampiah’s campaign to succeed Easter president Anoushka Kale pledges “more engaging socials,” to “boost scholarships and welfare visibility” and to bring “passion back to the chamber” with emergency motions on current issues.

Lorde’s campaign pledges to expand “scholarship and bursary programs”, to bring “more variety to events” and to engage “with societies across Cambridge”.

This is the only the second contested race for president since the ballot rigging scandal in 2023, in which then-president Max Ghose resigned after being accused of “astonishing acts of electoral malpractice”.

The race for speakers officer is also contested by two candidates: Pollyanna Greene-Wright and Orla Hunt.

Greene-Wright promises to improve Union speakers by “increasing the variety of sectors we pull speakers from,” especially in “science, sports, and music,” boosting “inclusion of members via social media polls,” and collaborating with “other student societies, including Pol-Socs”.

Hunt’s manifesto priorities are “securing top-tier speakers,” ensuring a “term card of diverse voices that reflect today’s political and social climate,” and “keeping our members engaged”.

For social events officer, Jasper Burnside promises to “keep ticket prices low”, “organise relaxed hangouts alongside formal events,” collaborate “with music societies and speakers for concerts in the Union Cellars,” and “gather event suggestions online”.

Competing against him, Joanne Yau pledges to bring “a diverse range of events that emphasise multiculturalism, freedom of expression through artistic channels and creative autonomy”.

Isaac James, standing unopposed for equalities, aims to build a Union that “represents the whole breadth of its membership”. His manifesto encourages voters to “think drag queens in the Chamber” and “think bashment and afrobeats in the cellars”.

Running unopposed for debates officer, Ben Davison commits to “making sure that these are as interesting and engaging as ever” and “full of recognisable names that you want to hear from”.

Hustings will take place on Thursday evening (13/3) at 7:30PM, before the Union’s weekly debate. Voting, which takes place in person at the Union, will open after that night’s main debate, and close at 6:00PM on Saturday (15/3). Results will be announced around 7:00PM the same evening.