Since rolling its nomination deadline back a week, the Undergraduate Council has seen a 40 per cent increase in the number of candidates seeking spots in next week's elections, council officials said last night.

When yesterday's deadline passed at 5 p.m., 157 candidates had entered the race for 88 available seats. By Thursday September 26, the original deadline, 112 students had filed for a place on the ballot.

But despite the extended deadline and additional publicity efforts, fewer candidates will seek office this year than last year when 175 students entered the race for seats.

Elections are scheduled to take place in the houses and in the Freshman Union on October 9th, 10th and 11th.

Council Vice Chairman Elizabeth M. Touhey '86, who is charged with conducting the election, said she was "as happy as a kitten," after learning of the improvement in the field, but added that "we were definitely hurt by the initial [publicity] problems we had."

Council members have attributed the poor turnout for the council's first nomination deadline to inadequate publicity about the election.

After calling last night's turnout "certainly not the lowest ever" Melendez said he was pleased by the size of the field seeking council seats.

When the first deadline passed on September 26, council officials rolled back deadlines in five districts with particularly weak turnout. The following day the council extended deadlines across the College due, members said, to disruption caused by Hurricane Gloria.

Since pushing back nomination deadlines, the council has received additional nominations in each of the College's 17 districts. Each house forms its own district and the freshman dorms are divided into four districts. With five candidates, only Kirkland House has not fielded more candidates than it has seats available