The ASUC Judicial Council ruled Sunday night that the recall election of Senator John Moghtader, which was planned for Jan. 26 and 27, be postponed due to mismanagement of the election and insufficient publicity.

The ruling says the recall election will take place within four weeks or when the senate decides it is feasible.

On Saturday, the judicial council ruled that the petition against Moghtader was specific enough to be valid, and the recall election could proceed as scheduled. But the council ruled on Sunday that the elections council had violated election procedure.

"We do feel that a more fair election will be conducted as a result (of the ruling)," said interim Judicial Council chair Kiira Johal.

The suit against the elections council was filed by ASUC Attorney General Michael Sinanian. He argued that the council had not properly informed students about polling procedures or other aspects of the election.

"Only a reasonable person would conclude that we need approximately a month to regroup," Sinanian said before the ruling.

Sinanian decided not to represent the ASUC Senate in the hearing that determined whether the recall petition was specific enough, because he said the petition was too vague.

The judicial council also issued an advisory opinion on Saturday, upholding the use of paper ballots and denying the elections council the authority to postpone the election.

The campaign to recall Moghtader began after an altercation on Nov. 13 between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian individuals on an Eshleman Hall balcony.

Moghtader was present at the incident, but no arrests or charges were filed by the Alameda County District Attorney.

Moghtader's alleged involvement during the Eshleman Hall incident led some students to circulate a recall petition which collected more than the 1,000 signatures required to initiate a recall election.

Initiators of the petition also point to his role in a disruption of a lecture by Norman Finkelstein on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as evidence of Moghtader's inappropriate behavior while in office.

The petition was presented to Sinanian at the last ASUC meeting of the fall semester. Prior to Sunday's ruling, the election was scheduled to take place before the second ASUC meeting hence.

According to the petition, Moghtader is being recalled for disrupting campus safety and for behaving in a manner unbecoming of an ASUC senator.

Initiators of the recall attempt said they lament the delay in the vote, but that they are still determined to hold the election.

"I would say that the potential for a fair election to take place existed," said recall organizer Nathan Shaffer. "There's significant support for the recall (waiting) four weeks seems a little extreme."

Tags: JUDICIAL COUNCIL, RECALL ELECTION, JOHN MOGHTADER