On Saturday, January 12, students at Dar al-Rahman cast their ballots for president of the DAR Student Council.  On one side was a popular incumbent—on the other, a young, unexpected challenger.  For several weeks, they had competed for the prize: the yearlong presidency of the Student Council.

Surveys were taken, arguments made, voters spoken to, some convinced, some not.  It all came down to the ballots cast on January 12.

The votes came quickly, and the results faster still.  Within minutes, ballot counters had come to a conclusion: the incumbent president had won the election with over 90% of the vote.  The final count: 14 votes for the incumbent, 1 for the challenger.

The surprise was not altogether shocking, as many had expected an easy win for the current president.  Despite this, however, the incumbent’s campaign manager was still somewhat surprised.  “We had prepared, of course, with an ultimately successful strategy, and we hoped to attain an overwhelming majority of the vote.  Seeing it in real numbers, though, is still slightly surprising,” he said.

The campaign manager cited a last-minute campaign push, along with long-term, quiet organization, as the reason for the victory.

“Over the last few weeks, we spoke with voters.  Sometimes, it was just ordinary people talking to one another, encouraging others to vote for our candidate.  Finally, in the last week, the candidate went out and spoke with every student who could vote.  Through this careful strategy, we claimed an easy victory at the polls.”

The president will begin her second term on February 2, 2013.