According to Dr Gugulethu Xaba, Director of SGLD (Student Governance and Leadership Development), these were the biggest SRC elections in the country for residential universities. “The elections showcased the hard work and active participation of students,” he said during the announcement of the preliminary results on 6 September 2023.
The 2023 voter turnout exceeded the turnout of the preceding two years. This year’s voter turnout was 53.9%, compared to 53,2% in 2022. Morena Modiselle, a financial management student from the Ga-Rankuwa Campus said the elections played a role for students to understand their role on campus and what leadership entails. “Political structures campaigning, display the activism on campus, which is the only way for structures to sell themselves to students,” he added.
Dr Shadrack Nthangeni, Executive Director of Student Affairs and Extracurricular Development (SAED), expressed his satisfaction with students being able to exercise their constitutional right to vote. “I am glad that University management was responsive by conducting classes online as an enabling tool to have free and fair elections,” he said.
The preliminary results were announced by Thobile Thomas, Chief Electoral Officer and Alan Campbell, Deputy Chief Electoral Officer from KDBS Consulting. The results showed the EFFSC (Economic Freedom Fighters Student Command) taking the lead in the results at the institution.
The consolidated version of the ISRC results showed EFFSC in first position with 14 206 votes and an allocation of 4 seats. SASCO received 9 542 votes, earning them two seats and SCO had 374 votes in total, earning them one seat.
2023 SRC Elections - CSRC Seat Allocations.pdf