Last night the Senate was three signatures short of impeaching SA President Audai Shakour.

In Thursday’s Hatchet we will have an article by our up and coming SA reporter, Andrew Ramanos, about the impeachment discussion last night.

The article will outline 11 reasons why supporters believe Shakour should be impeached- ranging from failing to execute the duties of his office to not properly handing EAF forms over the summer.

It is apparent that the sexual harassment charges Shakour admitted to in The Hatchet on Monday were the straw that broke the camel’s back for some senators.(Shakour denies sexual harasment charges, says he will stay on as SA President) Some senators have been upset with Shakour for a long time and have been making a list of reasons to impeach him. The recent harassment allegations were just too much for some senators to handle and they have come out publicly expressing their dismay of Shakour.

The impeachment document did not get the required ten signatures for an impeachment trial to be held. It is clear the majority of the senate at this time does not support impeachment, much less removal from office. Many senators have told me they believe it is premature to impeach Shakour at this juncture.

Many proponents and opponents of Shakour want to see how the University will deal with the sexual harassment charges, then they will consider how to move on.

Other Senators believe it is not the Senate’s duty to impeach Shakour because he is a popularly elected official. Some senators have told me that none of the 11 impeachment charges warrant removal from office because they do not represent violations of the SA constitution.

Many other senators are classifying the charges as a purely political move.

Whatever it is, Shakour was able to avoid it last night. Be sure though that the Senate will be taking a watchful eye on how he and the University and proceed from here.