Zuhair Syed resigned as president of the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union on Thursday, March 25, moments before the board ratified his impeachment referendum.
In a lengthy letter he read out during the March 25 board meeting, Syed said he has decided not to sue the SCSU “for now” despite threatening a lawsuit on Feb. 12 on allegations that the referendum procedure leading to his impeachment vote was “illegal and unconstitutional.” His earlier allegations included a statement that he would press charges for defamation of character. “I will not give this board the privilege and satisfaction of impeaching me illegally,” he had said.
On Dec. 18, the board had removed Syed from all his responsibilities, citing neglect of duties and unprofessional behaviour. Syed was still officially the president, however, and was paid $6,000 since December though he carried out no work.
Asked why it took over a month to ratify the impeachment, SCSU chair Imran Khan said lawyers had to confirm that bylaw 1 article 12.3 applies in this case. The bylaw states that the “accidental omission to give any notice” does not invalidate results if the omission did not affect the results. “[The lawyers said] it is wrong that we did not [give] a notice, but since there was a huge [voter] turnout, it was not a big deal,” said Khan.
Syed said he believes the newly elected executives are “a step in the right direction” for the SCSU and that he did not want to impede their work with a legal suit. “The real victory was won when many of the perpetrators behind my impeachment were not re-elected,” he said.
Khan and Mohsin Jeelani were among the execs who said the referendum should be thrown out now that Syed has resigned, to avoid the risk of a potential lawsuit. The move was contested by Maryann Raby, Kyle Prescod, and Aadam Zaidi, who said the referendum should still be ratified.
“If we dismiss it, we are saying that the students’ votes didn’t matter. By failing it, I think we would say, ‘Thank you for voting, but we really don’t care,’” said Prescod.
The three later voted to ratify the impeachment referendum. Eight board members abstained. There were no votes against the ratification.
The board also ratified the Pan Am athletic facility levy referendum on March 25.
