Alumni from U.S. Government-funded exchange programs participated in the recent PUAN elections with great efforts.
The sixth general election of Pakistan U.S. Alumni Network took place from December 3rd-7th, 2018, creating a 60.58 % voter turnout with 3259 alumni – 5379 eligible voters – exercising their right to vote.
A total of 118 candidates contested the elections for leadership from 13 PUAN chapters. 71 males and 47 alumni females contested for the positions of President, Vice-President, Youth Group Director and Exchange Ambassador.
See the list of newly elected leadership here.
PUAN Election Campaign Creating a Buzz
As soon as the final list of candidates was announced by the election committee, the candidates launched their online campaign. They not only engaged PUAN members through their campaign videos and posters, but also looped in several celebrities for endorsements including renowned singers Haroon, Arieb Azhar, Shallum Asher Xavier, Natasha Baig and socialite like Waseem Akram’s wife Shaniera Akram, making the elections more exciting! Check out the video here.
Understanding the 2018 PUAN Elections in Numbers
The figures and the timeline below show the composition of elections in relation to PUAN members and gender.
The Gender-Gap Waned as Women Triumph
This year PUAN Elections witnessed the ‘Pink Wave,’ with a historically high number of women alumnae contesting and winning the seats in the National Executive Committee.
Although the sixth amendment in the PUAN constitution abolished reserved seats for women, 4% more women were elected in this year’s election as compared to the last. In the previous election, out of 59 members NEC, 26 positions were held by women.
This year, female alumni gained significant ground by securing 25 seats out of 52 in National Executive Committee. 48% of representation means that women voices will echo louder in NEC and will be at the forefront of the decision-making processes of the network.
It is noteworthy that two women alumnae from the minority, Rida Stephen and Poonam Kumari, joined the ranks of successful candidates which brought much-needed diversity to the NEC this year. We are hopeful that the women turnout will increase in the next elections. Despite a massive campaign spearheaded by female contestants, the turnout of women voters remained fairly low as compared to men. As a result, out of 3259 votes casted, only 1296 belonged to women.
