JUST ONE non-candidate turned up for the NUS delegate election hustings event last week in what was slammed as "a complete farce" by one candidate.



The embarrassing showing was blamed on the "inactivity" of the Returning Officer, who is also the Students' Union Communications Officer.



Candidates were invited to talk for a minute, despite the lack of numbers, to an event originally designed to sway and woo uncertain voters.



Another candidate couldn't even find her own way to the event due to a lack of signs.



If she had arrived, she would have found half the candidates and only one voter, a friend of a candidate who had presumably already decided where his vote was going.



Some candidates criticised the disorganisation of the event, before facing questions.



Speaking to Student Direct, one candidate said that this was just another example of a Students' Union run by a "small elite" that has "no interest in engaging the wider student population".



The candidate blamed the lack of attendance on the inactivity of the Communications Officer, who replied by saying that the candidates were in no way proactive enough themselves.



"People need to get active and participate," he said, "candidates (in particular) should go out and talk to students.



"The best way to have a wicked hustings is for all the factions to work collectively."