UP STUDENT COUNCIL ELECTION: SASCO ONLY SUPPORTS DEMOCRACY WHEN IT SUITS SASCO

UP under pressure not to release election results

AfriForum Youth has requested an urgent meeting with the rector of the University of Pretoria (UP) in view of the political pressure that youth organisation Sasco are applying to prevent the university from releasing the results of the recent student parliament election. During a meeting with the student representative council (SRC), the UP management said it was considering a re-election due to the pressure it was under. AfriForum Youth will oppose a re-election with legal action.

Following the election that was held on 13 September, all complaints regarding the freeness and fairness of the election in terms of the Constitution for Student Governance were settled by the Independent Monitoring Body (IMB) and the Special Election Court (SEC).

"Sasco subsequently threatened the UP in a letter, stating that they would do anything to ensure that the results of the election were not released unless AfriForum Youth gave up a number of the seats they had carried," said Charl Oberholzer, National Chairman of AfriForum Youth.

Indications are that Sasco's support at the UP has decreased drastically, while AfriForum's support has increased significantly.

Sasco earlier laid a complaint against AfriForum after a pamphlet setting out last year's election results and the names of AfriForum Youth members who were candidates in the constituency for faculty representatives had been handed out. However, the contents of the pamphlet did not violate any written rule. Further, AfriForum Youth's legal team and the UP management reached a settlement regarding the procedural aspects of the complaint.

"It is clear that political decisions reign supreme at the UP at this stage What is more worrying, is that organisations like Sasco use threats to put pressure on the university," said Oberholzer.

According to Oberholzer, Sasco constantly pressurise the UP management, which impedes democracy on the campus. "Sasco only support democracy when it suits them. One would expect from an organisation like Sasco, being affiliated to the ANC, to endorse the principle of 'one man, one vote', but in the face of waning support, their idea of democracy is not in keeping with this principle."

"Sasco are going to great lengths to discredit the election because of their frustration over the increase in the support for AfriForum Youth at the UP. The election was free and fair in every respect and the UP management attended to and settled every violation that occurred during the election," said Oberholzer.

The UP management is considering the possibility of a re-election owing to Sasco's threats to wreak havoc on the campus if the election results are made known.

AfriForum Youth took part in the UP's student parliament election for the first time last year, gaining an absolute majority in the SRC.

Statement issued by Charl Oberholzer, National Chairman: AfriForum Youth, October 12 2011

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter