With campaigning for the Undergraduate Council presidential and vice presidential elections set to begin in less than three weeks, the first two official candidacies were announced late last night.

Fred O. Smith ’04, vice chair of the council’s Finance Committee, said he plans to run for council president with Justin R. Chapa ’05 as his running-mate.

David M. Darst ’05, who is not a council member, also announced his intention to run for president. Darst said he has not yet settled upon a running-mate.

Student Affairs Committee (SAC) Vice Chair Shira S. Simon ’04 said SAC Chair Rohit Chopra ’04 also plans to run for president.

Other council insiders said Chopra has chosen Campus Life Committee (CLC) Co-Chair Jessica R. Stannard-Friel ’04 as his running-mate, and that an official candidacy announcement is likely to come from Chopra later this week.

Smith and Darst’s announcements came one day after Election Commission member David I. Monteiro ’04 said at a council meeting that no public announcements or requests for support may be made by prospective candidates until Dec. 2, when campaigning is slated to officially begin.

Monteiro also wrote in an e-mail yesterday that the commission has prohibited prospective candidates from talking to the media about their campaigns.

“[The Election Commission] has tentatively decided that prospective candidates are not permitted to discuss their candidacy with The Crimson in order that no candidate receives any unfair advantage this early in the game,” Monteiro wrote.

Smith said last night he thought he was allowed to at least mention his candidacy.

“I got scared from last night’s meeting. I don’t know how much I’m allowed to say,” Smith said. “I think I’m allowed to say that I’m going to be running for president.”

Darst also said he intends to run.

“One of my main objectives is to help make the Undergraduate Council a more effective and efficient resource for Harvard undergraduates,” he said.

Though Smith and Darst’s decisions and Chopra’s expected announcement will throw off the commission’s timetable, the race is getting a slightly later official start than it did last year.

Current council President Sujean S. Lee ’03—the final candidate to declare publicly her intention to run—announced her presidential candidacy exactly one year ago today, just three days before candidacy petitions were due and campaigning was permitted to begin.

This year, according to Monteiro, the names of the candidates will be officially confirmed and released by the Saturday before Thanksgiving.