The following announcement has been published on the party website today by Chief Executive, Mike Dixon:

Amna Ahmad has been elected and will take up the role of Vice President responsible for working with ethnic minority communities.

Thank you to Amna and all of the candidates for taking part in the election. The results can be found in full here.

As this was a by-election, Amna’s term will run until January 2023.

MORE ABOUT AMNA
Amna was born in Lahore, Pakistan, and grew up on a council estate in London where she experienced the foster care system. She has a track record as a candidate for the Party, including a 2017 Westminster target seat campaign, and was our Shadow Refugee Minister that year.

She is a regular contributor to BBC Asian Network and has appeared in The Guardian, the Evening Standard, ITV News, and the BBC, amongst others. Professionally she is a campaigner working in healthcare policy.

Her manifesto for the election was clear:

“Time and time again, we hear that the reality of what ethnic minorities face in our party and in our politics does not match up to the principles we hold, and, as a party committed to equality, it is vital that we apply our values and make a change. I will provide the positive vision and leadership we need to move forward and make that happen.

As a former Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate, I have seen prejudice close-up, within British politics and, sadly, within our party. And I know that I’m not the only one. My experience led me to take time to reflect and then, at Harvard, I learnt from world leaders on race equality, collaborative working, and leadership. I want to translate my experience and learning into change for our party in the UK. As a starting point, we must implement the Alderdice Review recommendations.”

This result is being announced now so that the new Vice President can take up their role and the rights of members to fill that post be respected. There is an outstanding appeal, and this announcement does not prejudice the outcome of that appeal. However, it is normal practice in party elections like this, and provided for in the election rules, not to wait until the resolution of all appeals before a result is declared.