The University of Ghana’s Student Representative Council (SRC) has elected Maradona Yeboah Adjei, better known by his stage name Guru, as its new president.
The polls were called on Wednesday, September 19, 2024, and Guru was declared the winner. Out of the 18,659 legitimate votes cast, Guru and his running mate, Jeffrey Adu-Yeboah, garnered an astounding 9455 votes. With 50.7% of the vote, he won.
Emmanuel Owusu Amponsah, a close competitor, and Lawrence Edinam Egleh, his running mate, received 6645 votes, or 35.6% of the total votes cast.
Before the polls, his candidacy to run in the elections was clouded in controversy.
After being disqualified from the presidential contest, Guru filed a petition against the Student Representative Council (SRC) Electoral Commission of the University of Ghana.
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The rapper was already ruled out of the contest due to his non-residential status.
The Hiplife icon’s non-resident status was the basis for disqualification, as stipulated by Article 30, which requires applicants to be campus residents in order to be allowed to run for a Junior Common Room (JCR) post in their hall.
In response, his legal team filed a petition with the Electoral Commission and the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs, asking for a reconsideration of the decision.
In addition, he asked for the election process to be temporarily halted until a proper hearing and judgment were made in an interim injunction that he presented to the Judicial Board.
On September 15, 2024, the appeals board overturned the disqualification by a unanimous vote of 7 to 0.