The votes from Yesterday's election have been counted, and the results are in!

Congratulations to the following candidates who were elected:

• President, Easter 2013:  Joel Fenster
• Executive Officer, Easter 2013: Emily Gittins
• Speakers' Officer, Easter 2013: Imogen Schon
• Treasurer, Easter 2013: Steve Squirrell
• Social Events Officer, Easter 2013: Lucy Lassman
• Supplementary Committee, Lent 2013: Matthew Hitchens, Ben Leibowitz, Sarah Garland, James White

Elections will be held online and in the Union on Friday 23rd, from 9am-6pm.

To vote, please login with your Union account and follow the instructions on the voting page.

The candidates and their manifestos are here.

You will only be able to vote online if your user account's email address is on our online electoral roll. You can check whether you are on the roll by visiting the voting page. Please do so in advance of the election, as the electoral roll cannot be altered once it has begun.

If you have queries about the election process, please email the Returning Officers, ro@cus.org. For technical queries, please email development@cus.org.

Please sign in (upper right) to apply for a ticket for the Israeli Ambassador's talk on Monday evening. Applications close at 11.00pm on Friday, 23rd November. Once signed in, please click here to apply for a ticket.

You will be notified over the weekend if you are to receive a ticket. No entry will be allowed without a valid ticket, Union Society ID card, and one other form of photo ID (preferrably University ID).

It has recently been announced that Mr Assange will be delivering the keynote address via video link to the ConventionCamp conference in Hanover, Germany, on 27^th November. This announcement comes only one day after his spokesperson claimed that his Q&A at the Cambridge Union Society must be cancelled because his preferred broadcaster, Russia Today, was unable to arrange the technical aspects of the video link. The Union Society is disappointed in Mr Assange’s apparent dishonesty. We would have hoped that any individual or institution claiming to represent the interests of free speech and openness would be more straightforward in their dealings. We apologise to members for the confusion this has caused and the doubts that have arisen following Mr Assange’s misleading statement.

Had Mr Assange not cancelled, the question of his appearance would have been put to a vote this weekend. Had that vote decided to hold the event, it would have gone forward next week. The Union Committee hopes that the developments of the past week will galvanise more member involvement and feedback - while we reach out to members through feedback forms, college representatives, our website, our supplementary committee, and many other means, it is clear that we need a more representative way of gauging what members want. We hope members will consider joining us next term to discuss No Platform policies and the Union's invitation policy going forward. Only when we know exactly what members joined to participate in can we be certain how to provide for their wishes.

Mr Assange has cancelled his upcoming Q&A session at the Union due to technical issues with the video feed at the Ecuadorian Embassy.

Because the Embassy does not have a strong internet connection, the only way to produce the live 2-way video feed was by relying on two broadcast vans. The broadcast agency scheduled to handle the feed is no longer able to, and no other broadcast agencies which may be interested have the capability and availability on the 27th.

We note the claim by Susy Langsdale, CUSU Women’s Officer, that this cancellation is due to a campaign opposing the event, however we would like to re-iterate that Mr Assange’s cancellation comes in light of the broadcaster cancelling, and is unrelated to the petition.

It is unfortunate that these issues were discovered before the Union Society had the opportunity to fairly gauge members’ views through a Special Business Meeting, which was scheduled to be held this weekend, however the Women’s Campaign has withdrawn the requisition that was necessary to call this meeting. At the next opportunity, the Committee will be considering the possibility of holding a Special Business Meeting this term or next as chance to discuss No Platform policies. The question of rescheduling the event will wait until after this discussion.

We hope recent events will encourage more member involvement and discussion about the principles for which the Union exists. We also hope that they will act as a catalyst for more widespread awareness and education about rape culture.

Sign in with your Union Society account and take a look here to buy your ticket to the Oktoberfest this Saturday!

We're proud to share the Michaelmas 2012 Union Society Termcard! You can have a flip through the digital version or download the pdf to see what's already in store for this term.

And remember, after the 12th of October, all our great debates, speakers, and events are only open to members, so join the CUS today before the price goes up on 4th October!

Congratulations to all of you who made your A-Level offers!

To celebrate your arrival in Cambridge, we're guaranteeing our first 100 new members a free ticket to the Union's 2012 Freshers' Ball, AND we're discounting our usual membership prices for a limited time! Join the Union Society online today to be in with a chance of a guaranteed ticket to the ball and to save money - but hurry, the offer is only available for a limited time!

Your membership gets you a lot more than access to the best parties in Cambridge though -- check out our video below to see some of the incredible guest speakers that our members get to meet, and have a look through our Facebook group to see the range of treats we offer! Don't miss out; join today.

The Freshers' Ball -- one part of a packed term of events at the Union!

Thank you to all members who voted in today's Officer Election. Your Officers for Lent Term 2013 are:

President - Benjamin Kentish
Executive Officer - Joanna Mobed
Speakers Officer - Alex Porter
Treasurer - Anastasia Bogatyreva
Social Events Officer - Natalia Maj

Details of the votes are as follows: 

The Union is teaming up with the University Chocolate Society to bring you the LAST event of its kind - this time chocolate and massages. It's going to be the perfect way to chill out, you won't want to miss this! Indulge in some of the food of the gods and chill out by getting a massage from our fully-qualified professionals. 

Tickets are priced at £3 for Union or Choc-Soc members, and £5 for non-members. Tickets are on sale here.