Students might have noticed that the official announcement for the Student Government (SG) presidential elections for the upcoming term was delayed. Here’s a look at what slowed down the process.

Suryakanth Prasad Gottipati and Sumit Subhash Jadhav won the election with 1,702 votes. However, Alexa Matos and Rithvik Lee Pack, presidential candidates and runner-ups, filed grievances against them, and the results were postponed.

Grievances are complaints submitted by members of the student body when they think a candidate has broken one of the campaign regulations. 

Related: USF Student Government uncertified 2024 election results

The judicial branch records show that the Supreme Court reviewed all grievances that could be perceived as violations on April 16. 

It was found that there was no solid basis for the claims made against the pair and the ticket in a unanimous vote, according to the records.

The results of the election still need to be certified by the Election Rules Committee. Matos and Lee Pack have until Thursday at 5 p.m. to appeal the court’s verdict. 

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Gottipati and Jadhav wrote in a statement to The Oracle that they are “thrilled” to serve the student body in the next academic year.

“In a landmark decision that underscores the principles of justice and democracy within our student government, the Supreme Court has unanimously ruled in our favor, affirming our commitment to integrity and service,” they wrote.

Jadhav posted on his personal Instagram stories claiming the pair won the election on Sunday night. Jadhav went as far as posting a Kanye West award acceptance speech saying “Everybody wants to know what I would do if I didn’t win, I guess we will never know.”

Jadhav also reposted current SG President Cesar Esmeraldi’s screenshot of a conversation between Esmeraldi, Gottipati and himself. 

But why were grievances filed?

On April 13, a trial was held both virtually on Microsoft Teams and in person in the Marshall Student Center SG chambers from 10 a.m. to noon to discuss the grievances filed against Gottipati and Jadhav.

The grievances Matos and Lee Pack filed against the opposing candidates were:

• Intimidating or actively pressuring voters to vote in front of a candidate or campaign ticket.
• Displaying any hyperlinks or QR codes leading directly to the official voting software. 

Matos and Lee Pack were represented by SG prosecutor Kaila Smith. During her opening statement, Smith accused the opposing candidates of hiring Anubhav Gupta, a senate transcriber, to approach students on campus and strategically show them QR codes linked directly to the voting software.

Esmeraldi posted a video of Jadhav and Gupta on his Instagram story, with the writing “celebrities spotted” on Monday. 

The trial revolved around witnesses being called to testify about their interactions with Gupta, and trying to figure out Gupta’s relationship with Gottipati and Jadhav.

Matos said she was approached by Gupta, only 20 feet from SG Computer Services, on the first day of voting. She presented the video she recorded at the time as evidence, but Gupta’s face didn’t make the shot.

Jadhav said he was not aware that Gupta was walking around campus showing students the QR code. He said Gupta was not assisting in his and Gottipati’s campaign.

“We found out after grievances were filed,” Jadhav said. “We didn’t ask him to do it.”

Matos said she took a while to file grievances because she was under the impression that Gupta was a staff member for the opposing campaign. She said Gupta spent the day taking pictures of Gottipati and Jadhav during USF St. Pete’s ‘Meet The Candidates’ event.

Gupta was not asked to take pictures of them specifically, Jadhav said.

The cross-examination or judges’ questioning did not address what Gupta had to gain from this situation if they were not friends.

In his final statement, SG prosecutor Brian Crown said that Gupta’s actions were “not about” Gottipati and Jadhav and that no one had evidence that the candidates themselves were involved. 

Even though Matos and Lee Pack have until Thursday to appeal the court’s decision to elect Gottipati and Jadhav, Matos wrote in a statement to The Oracle that the pair does not plan on doing so. 

Matos wrote this was “the perfect result” as she and Lee Pack were planning on declining the position as president and VP. 

“I am grateful it all worked out in the end and I wish them luck as it seems that there is a lot of work to do, but I am happy it’s not me,” Matos wrote.

Additional reporting by Julia Saad.