https://www.oxfordstudent.com/2025/11/29/arwa-elrayess-wins-tt26-oxford-union-presidency/
Image credit: Oxford Union photography by Grace Greaves. Photo of Elrayess by Sergey Y. Shkolnikov.
Arwa Elrayess wins TT26 Oxford Union Presidency
Arwa Hanin Elrayess of the #ENGAGE slate has been elected Oxford Union President for Trinity Term 2026 with 757 first preference votes, around 150 more than runner-up Liza Barkova. Turnout was 1528, markedly higher than last term’s.
Both Elrayess and Barkova are second-year PPEists who currently serve on the Union’s Standing Committee. Elrayess is a student at St Edmund Hall, while Barkova goes to Christ Church.
The officer roles saw a decisive victory for the #ENGAGE slate over the #RENEW slate. Harry Aldridge won the election for Secretary with 700 first preference votes, beating Daniel Eldridge. Catherine Xu was elected Treasurer over Katie Pannick, winning 693 first preference votes. Prajwal Pandey was elected Librarian over Viraansh Bhanushali, with 635 first preferences.
Both candidates for the presidency emphasised their experience as members of the Union Committees. Elrayess’s campaign centred around the issue of internal politics interfering with the governance of the Union, with her stating that governance issues this term have “overshadowed the very debates that define [the Union]”. In response to this, she pledged separate governance for Debate Nights to protect the quality of members’ experience. She also emphasised that the Union’s current financial situation is precarious, and her other proposals include tighter financial controls, accessible summaries of Committee activity for transparency, and allocating Union perks like dinners and meet-and-greets in a way that is impartial.
Barkova’s campaign emphasised that the Oxford Union has recently taken reputational hits, claiming that it is “facing one of the most turbulent moments in its modern history”. She cited the issues of speakers withdrawing from events, membership falling, and finances weakening. Her vision for the Union made stability and respectability a central goal, reviving the Union’s finances, repairing its reputation, and booking quality speakers.
Voting for this election was held on the 28th of November from 9:30am to 8:30pm in the Union’s Goodman Library. This followed a tumultuous term for the Union where two no-confidence polls were triggered in President-Elect George Abaraonye and President Moosa Harraj respectively.
The six candidates elected to the Standing Committee are, in order of most votes to least: Dheeraj K. Singh, Milo Donovan, Vishnu Vadlamani, Oliver Douglas, Claire Luo, and Ben Ashworth. Ellie Apostolidi was runner-up.
The eleven candidates elected to the Secretary’s Committee are, in order of most votes to least: Henry Nicholls, Fadel Semane, Saara Lunawat, Matteo Brunel, Toby Lyon, Euan Willis, Adil Rahoo, Shahmir Aziz, Ea Marty, Daniel Ratajczyk, and Santiago Vazquez.
Speaking to The Oxford Student, Elrayess said: “I am grateful and humbled by the faith and trust the members of the Union have placed in me and my team. I want to thank all those who put aside their differences and came together to work towards a shared vision of this Union, which we all adore. I look forward to serving the members of this society in Trinity Term 2026.”