Who will be the new rector of KU Leuven? Second voting round starts (Leuven)
Severine Vermeire became very close to the victory last week, after the first voting round.
Today/Monday at 8 am the second round of the rector elections at KU Leuven will start. In the first round, none of the three candidates achieved the required absolute majority to become a rector. Vice rector Tine Baelmans and Professor gastrointestinal diseases Severine Vermeire are the last two contenders.
Vermeire hit very close to the victory last week, after the first round of voting. She got 944 weighted voices, or 44.5 percent. Baelmans followed the second at a large distance with 592 weighted voices, or 27.5 percent. With the third candidate Peter Lievens, the result was very narrow: he only got 21 votes less than Baelmans and ditched to 26.9 percent. So Lievens dropped out after the first voting round last week. One percent of the votes was blank.
First female rector
With Vermeire and Baelmans as two remnants, KU Leuven gets a female rector for the first time in its existence. Based on the first round, Vermeire is by far the most chance of becoming a rector, but Baelmans does not yet won himself. The vice rector hopes to attract the voices of Lievens, also currently vice rector, and to turn it into an exciting election. For Vermeire it is important to retain the voices she has already cashed in.
Tine Baelmans hopes to draw the voices of Lievens, also currently vice rector, and to turn it into an exciting election.
The electoral rules remain almost the same as during the first voting round, although students cannot vote again. Their result is retained, but is reviewed as if Peter Lievens did not participate.
The three other categories – professors, researchers and assistants and administrative and technical staff – can cast their vote again. The weight of the votes of the four sections remains the same as last week: the group of professors counts for 70 percent, the three other sections are each good for 10 percent.
The second voting round lasts until Tuesday at 4 p.m. The result is expected in the course of the evening. The rector’s mandate starts on August 1.
