Solano and Malanga won the runoff election by 65 votes.
Courtesy of @_sebastiansolano on Instagram
By Aubrey Carr
A change in leadership is coming to the University of South Florida with the results of the spring 2023 Student Government elections.
Juniors Sebastian Solano and Jessica Malanga won the spot of SG president and vice-president-elect after a run-off election against Cesar Esmeraldi and Elizabeth Volmy.
Across the three campuses, 2,087 votes were cast. Solano and Malanga gained 1,076 votes, with Esmeraldi and Volmy closely following at 1,011 –– a small difference of 65 votes.
According to SG supervisor of elections, Laura Shaw, the results will remain uncertified until all campaign grievances are resolved.
If certified, Solano and Malanga will begin their roles on April 21, replacing current president and vice president, Nithin Palyam with Amy Pham.
Of the St. Petersburg campus’ 3,297 eligible voters, 425 students casted a ballot.
Abdul Muqeet Khawaja and Taylor Herman won the positions of student governor and lieutenant governor in an uncontested race. Their ticket earned 391 votes.
The pair will be taking over for current governor and lieutenant, Sean Schrader and Joshua Rampertab on April 20.
Five St. Petersburg students will be joining the senate, Alexa Michelle Matos, Alexis Hobbs, Nathan Poinsette, Kenneth Bright and Giovanna “Gigi” Belisario.
The campus council filled only one of its eight seats, with Erin Turney returning to her previously held position.
Due to the vacant seats, SG will host a special campus council election. Applications opened on March 27 and will close on April 14.
In addition to the votes for SG positions, ballots also included a vote on continuing the Student Green Energy Fee for the next three years.
The $1.00 per credit hour fee goes towards increasing sustainable initiatives at the university. Previous uses include solar umbrellas, refillable water bottle stations and laundry detergent refill stations. 307 students voted in favor of the fee’s continuation, 56 voted against and 63 voters abstained.
