Fallout from last week’s contested GUSA executive election dragged on this week as both the winning and disqualified tickets promised to appeal election fines assessed during the campaign.

Kelley Hampton (SFS ’05) and Luis Torres (COL ’05), who received the most votes but were disqualified by the Election Commission, have yet to submit a formal appeal to the Constitutional Council.

Sources said that President-elect Adam Giblin (SFS ’06) and Vice President-elect Eric Lashner (COL ’05) have also filed an appeal preemptively, alleging that fines against Hampton and Torres were too lenient. Giblin refused to comment on the appeal until the Election Commission had reviewed it.

The appeal will only be relevant if enough of the fines for the violations by Hampton and Torres are overturned, changing the election’s outcome.

Applications for executive appointments are available but Giblin and Lashner cannot begin interviews until they have been sworn in. Giblin said he and Lashner continued to meet with school administrators to help begin working toward their campaign goals and prepare for a transfer of power.

“We’re trying to do our job, trying to work for the students, but as long as the appeals process continues, it will be difficult to devote all of our focus to what needs to be focused on,” Giblin said. “We’re trying to keep our priorities straight, and service to students is priority number one.”

According to Torres, he received a detailed statement of their campaign expenses and violations last Friday and determined the procedure for filing an appeal after meeting with Election Commission Chair Lisa Lombardo (COL ’04) and Constitutional Council Chair J.B. Horgan (SFS ’05).

They filed a preliminary appeal concerning six specific fines related to election violations to the Election Commission immediately after the election on Feb. 9. The appeal was denied and the ticket then appealed three more fines.

Torres said he expects the Election Commission to rule on those three fines this week and the pair plans to file an appeal to the Constitutional Council as soon as the Election Commission rules.

The Election Commission has refused to comment on the specifics of the ongoing appeals but released a statement last Friday.

“The Election Commission is committed to fairness and equity, and we promise to review all complaints and appeals in a timely and respectful manner,” James Shea (COL ’04) said speaking on behalf of the election commission. “As such, we continue to reserve comment regarding the entire election process and thank the campus community and all those involved for understanding our decision to do so.”

Horgan said that the Constitutional Committee cannot make a statement yet as it is not directly faced with an appeal from Hampton and Torres.

GUSA Assembly Chair Jack Ternan (COL ’04) said he canceled this week’s assembly meeting because of unrelated activities. Feb. 17 was the scheduled date for the swearing-in of the newly elected candidates before the election controversy arose.

Ternan said that a meeting, however, would not have clarified the election situation at all.

“The Election Commission was not going to report to the assembly whether we met or not,” Ternan said.

Torres also berated campus media for what he considers partial coverage.

“It’s more complex than just saying, Kelley and Luis were disqualified for violating campaign rules and printing condemnations, character judgments and scoldings for acts that we allegedly committed,” he said. “We are in the process of contending many alleged violations and it’s damaging to the process when the media acts as a jury and not as the objective informer of the student body.”