Joxerramon Bengoetxea will be the new rector of the UPV/EHU after winning the elections held this Tuesday. In the next six years, Bengoetxea will be the first time that he registers the public university that will be done in this way, according to the new organic law.

The victory has been clear to the new rector, as his team has obtained 64% of the votes cast so far. The other candidate, Eva Ferreira, wanted to give continuity to the previous rectory team, but she has received only 36% of the votes. Thus, voters have opted for change, albeit without change.

Sixteen years ago, there has been no rivalry in the elections to the rectorate of the UPV/EHU and that has sparked the election campaign. The controversy has also been aroused by the candidates and by certain behaviors in their environment – resigned Ferreira’s team member Guillermo Quindós, after learning that he used false accounts to insult the opponent.

After the results were known, Bengoetxea assured that "the university has won the elections". "We all want the best for the university, we have had different visions, but we are all part of the big groups," the new rector added. As he explained, the key to his mandate will be to "put the students in the center", and in this sense he has asked the students themselves to be "critical" with the rectorado.

Participation has been around 22%. Of the 50,590 people who were called to vote, 11,081 have gone to the polls to deposit their vote. In any case, the results obtained by the candidates are weighted, since the vote of the students is 22.08% and that of the professor doctor irkasle is 56.25%.

Bengoetxea will take office on 3 December. Professor of Philosophy, he has over 30 years of experience in European law and has received numerous awards, including the Jeus María Leizaola Prize awarded to him in 2021.