UvA votes | Activist Party expands further, wins CSR elections convincingly

The CSR consists of 14 members and is elected through a two-tier system: 7 members are directly elected by all students, while the other 7 are delegated by each of the seven faculty councils. The fact that the Activist Party secured a majority of the 7 directly elected seats with 40 percent of the vote is due to a favourable distribution of remainder seats. This could also have major consequences for the balance of power within the radical-left bloc: because the Activist Party also won many seats in the faculty councils, an absolute majority in the CSR is now a real possibility. At present, the Activist Party holds 6 of the 14 seats.

Continue reading below the graphic showing the new distribution of seats in the CSR.

CSR chair
It is expected that Fitton Gomez, currently chair of the FMG faculty council, will become the new chair of the CSR. Although this is not guaranteed, the position is usually filled by the lead candidate of the largest party. Whether that will also be the case this year will become clear once the faculty councils have delegated one of their members to the central council.

Remarkably, however, Fitton Gomez (481 votes) was not the most popular individual candidate on the digital ballot. De Vrije Student lead candidate Anastacia Piersma received the support of no fewer than 870 voters. She even surpassed the vote total of current CSR chair Francesco Bruseghini last year, who had then set the record at 862 votes. Unfortunately for Piersma, this result did not translate into growth for the liberal party: De Vrije Student once again remains at 2 seats in the CSR. The final seat goes to UvASociaal lead candidate Sára Bystrovová. Inter failed to win a seat.

Faculty councils
The Activist Party also achieved excellent results in the faculty elections, but the same can be said for the new party Axios. The party – which did not participate in the central elections – unexpectedly won 3 seats in both the faculty council of the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) and the FMG faculty council. Axios says it aims to create a “stronger community” around the UvA and “higher standards” at the university.

It is also notable that the large faculty parties appear to be losing some influence. The usually dominant FNWI party Lief has lost its absolute majority, while the once-powerful FEB party Sefa Student Party is left with only 1 seat in the faculty student council this year. At the same time, new faculty-specific parties are emerging, including Lampara (FGw) and Student Mandate (FdR), both of which secured 2 seats.

Continue reading below the overview of all FSR election results (click the arrows to view the different faculties):

Turnout
One of the recurring questions in the student council elections is how many students actually take the time to vote. Although turnout had been rising in recent years, participation generally remains relatively low. Despite a longer voting period this year – 9 days instead of the usual 5 due to the Ascension Day weekend – CSR turnout reached only 17 percent, falling short of last year’s record figures, when 21.5 percent of students ultimately cast a vote.

Turnout in the faculty council elections was also several percentage points lower than last year. Only at FEB, the Faculty of Medicine (FG), and the ACTA dental faculty did relatively more students vote. At FGw, FNWI, and FMG, turnout was around 6 percentage points lower than in 2025. As is tradition, PPLE students once again recorded the highest turnout: 55.8 percent this year.