HOW TO WIN A STUDENT UNION (SUG) ELECTION

Winning a student union, department, or faculty election isn’t as easy as it seems, but if you apply some of these tactics I’m about to give you, then I’m confident that you will win as long as you believe in your ambition. Some students had to borrow money or lie to get support from their parents to fund their political ambitions, but the truth is, everything about the Students’ Union election is not about money. You need to apply wisdom, courage, and a touch of humility to win. 

 
Anyone can win the students’ union election, whether you are male or female, it doesn’t matter. What matters most is what you have to offer the students that will make them choose you as their leader. I have seen female students become SUG Presidents in universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. As long as you understand the tactics of student politics, your chance of winning is guaranteed. So, what are the strategies for winning the SUG election? Follow the tips below. 

1. WRITE AN EXCELLENT CGPA.

Before you think of contesting for a Students’ Union election, you need to take your academics seriously and make it your major priority to achieve a good CGPA of not less than 3.00. Once you achieve this in your first year, your chance of winning is guaranteed. Most students believed that people who performed well in their academics might also perform well in office, so they may be convinced to vote for you, seeing you as a brilliant and intelligent person with your excellent CGPA. 

 
Furthermore, obtaining an excellent CGPA will make it difficult for the school authorities to threaten you with your results or academics because they already know you to be brilliant. Therefore, to win an SUG election, you must first prepare yourself by making sure you pass all your courses without carryover. If you don’t perform well in your academics, your opponent may use that against you in the battle which you may later lose. One of my colleagues was voted in as a faculty president at the polytechnic. Even though he was loved by the students, the school management impeached him on the ground of “poor academic performance.” They said he couldn’t lead with a CGPA of less than 2.50, despite winning the election. He was impeached in the second semester. So my point here is that if you want to win any election on campus, focus on your academics first and achieve an excellent result. 

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2. SET A DETERMINATION.

Without determination, you may not achieve your ambitions. Set a goal for yourself as regards your political ambition and work towards it. For instance, if you would like to contest for the office of the P.R.O., let it always ring in your mind and start working to ensure that you achieve your goal.

 
3. IDENTIFY YOUR REASON FOR COMPETING.

Before you contest for any election on campus, you need to identify the reasons why you are contesting for the position. Are you contesting because your friends asked you to? Or are you contesting because of money? If so, you might not win the election. You should not contest an election because your course-mates advised you to. You should contest an election only if you know within yourself that you are competent, capable, and qualified for that position.

You may lose the poll if you enter because you believe you are a campus celebrity. Ask yourself these questions: Am I competent to be a leader? Do I have what it takes to lead? Will I be able to handle these offices properly if elected? Do the students need someone like me? Am I different from other comrades? You must identify the reasons why you are aspiring for the position, as these will get you prepared to defeat your opponent at the poll.
 

4. SELECT A POSITION AND BEGIN WORKING.

Which of the Student Union offices would you like to run for? Choose between SUG, faculty, and department offices. Identify a position and begin to work towards its actualization. For example, if you are running for P.R.O., start updating the students on a regular basis, both online and offline. Doing this will make them notice you, and they might be persuaded to vote for you at the poll having seen all your contributions to the institution.
 

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5. GAIN STUDENTS’ TRUST.

The students need a leader they can trust and relate to, and this is why you have to be friendly and jovial with them to gain their trust. As long as they can confide in you, you will surely win. However, to win their trust, you must always try as much as possible to engage them. If possible, organise educational seminars or render free services to them. You can organize free services such as charging phones every weekend, free shoe polishing, free photocopying, free transportation, and so on. Doing this will get you familiar with the students and might gain their trust through it. Volunteer yourself to render services needed by the students. For instance, you can volunteer to clean the school hostels and surroundings. By doing this, you get to win the students’ hearts and gain their trust, which in turn makes you win the student union election.
 

6. IMPROVE YOUR PUBLIC Relations AND AWARENESS.

You need massive publicity and awareness to get the students informed about your name and aspirations, and to achieve this, you would have to mobilize your own team. The team should be those whom you can confide in and trust. If possible, pick a student from each department and faculty to help you publicize your aspirations to their fellow students and colleagues. They will help you post your flyers and posters to their department and faculty groups both online and offline. You need to have a dialogue with course reps and class governors about your ambition and convince them to work for your team. If they agree to your ambition, I’m sure you will win. 

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7. IDENTIFY PROBLEMS OR CHALLENGES THAT STUDENTS FACE AND OFFER A SOLUTION.

Your manifesto should state some of the challenges the students are facing and how you will use your office to solve them. For instance, if you are contesting for the position of SUG President and lecturers have made textbooks compulsory for students, you can itemise how you will solve the issue once and for all. If you are running for the position of Financial Secretary, persuade the students to vote for you. You can promise them transparency and accountability if elected.

8. SHOW COMRADE STUDENTS’ PROOF.

To prove to the students that you truly are the best, your English should be fluent, free of blunders, and most importantly, you must be able to face the crowd of students to prove to them your courage, that you are not afraid, and that you will always protect their interests. The students may not vote for you if they see that you are dull. You need to prove to them that you truly have all the 3 C’s of Aluta embedded in you, which include confrontation, consultation, and consolidation.
 

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9. TO WIN THE STUDENT UNION ELECTION YOU MUST HAVE MONEY.

There are many students who are capable of leading, but money has been a big challenge for them to contend with. If you want to win a student union (SUG) election, you must first put money into consideration. How? You need money for campaigns, publicity, awareness, jingles, etc. And also, you need money to purchase your nomination form. This means that if you are weak financially, you might not win considering the above reasons, especially if your school is over-populated. Money is a big factor. Make sure you budget money for the election. 

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10. CREATE A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM FOR YOUR CAMPAIGN.

You need an active social media platform for your campaigns. This includes WhatsApp groups, Facebook pages, groups and others. You will be able to update the students regarding your progress on these platforms, and your supporters too will share and repost, I’m sure this will pave the way for you to win the election. You should ensure that you post content on social media platforms that promotes your name and political ambition, as well as encourages students to support your ambition.

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11. START EARLY AND CHOOSE A CATCHY NICKNAME.

If you are already determined to contest a student union election, then you must start early. As they say, “Proper preparation prevents poor performance,” so while you take your academics seriously, you also need to start your political ambitions as early as possible by selling yourself to the students. Do things that will get you noticed in your department and faculty. If possible, be friendly with your colleagues, interact with them, and choose a catchy nickname. Let your nickname ring bells before the election period. Doing this will definitely make you win the election, as your nickname is also part of the criteria for the student union election. Let your nickname be catchy and sweet to the audience.

 
12. ASK A SENIOR POLITICIAN TO BE YOUR MENTOR.

For you to win a student union election, you need to choose a senior politician as a mentor or make friends with campus politicians and lecturers. With their influence and endorsement, you may get some tactics that will help you defeat your opponent at the polls. Especially if you don’t have much money to spend, you need to make friends with some lecturers and senior politicians on campus as they will give you some tips that will help you to win the election. So if you don’t have a godfather, mentor, or senior politician, I will advise you to choose one as doing so is a guarantee to winning the SUG election.

Furthermore, you should also make friends with lecturers and staff. Trust me, this will pave the way to your victory. 

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13. PARTICIPATE IN CAMPUS FELLOWSHIP AND ASSOCIATION.

There are hundreds of associations and religious groups on campus. As a student politician, you need to get familiar with a few of them as this will increase your popularity among the students. For instance, if there are special programs or occasions, you can make use of the opportunity to sell yourself to the students by doing things that will get you noticed.

 
14. PRAY TO GOD.

With God, All things are possible, so communicate with him to show you direction regarding your political ambitions. Pray to him to grant you wisdom, knowledge, and courage to lead and win the election. The almighty God is a merciful God. I’m very sure if you get him involved in your activities, you will definitely win.

In addition, never borrow money to contest a Student Union (SUG) election. You might run into debts and not able to recover for some time, which in turn can affect your academics, so do your best and leave the rest for the students to decide.

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In conclusion, the Students’ Union (SUG) election is not a do or die affair. Therefore, don’t bite more than you can chew. Remember, there is life after school, so let your actions and character reflect that you are aspiring because there is a need for change, and let your character reflect that you truly are capable of bringing about change in student politics. I’m very sure that with all these tactics I’ve given you, you will win any student union election, be it SUG, faculty, or department election. Best of luck.