MARGEAUX ERASMUS
The tussle between AfriForum Youth and the University of Pretoria ended on Friday 24 February when Judge Rabie ordered the immediate release of last year’s SRC election results and the formation of the SRC. Here’s what Tuks’s political parties had to say about the issue.
UP AfriForum Youth Chairperson, Liza-Mari Coetzee, said that the result of the AfriForum Youth and UP court case has allowed students to realise that when you stand up for your rights you will receive a positive outcome. She added that, “The fact that AfriForum had to use the court to give student’s [their] voices back and make their vote count, is an indication of how serious the matter of representing students are.”
Francois Cloete, Chairperson of VF+ Students, agreed that AfriForum’s court victory was a victory for students because, “We can now have a SRC after a long absence and can start serving the students completely.”
DASO Chairperson, Jordan Griffiths, also expressed relief that the court case is over. He said, “At DASO we are obviously satisfied that this issue could be resolved,” and added that, “One would hope that from all this drama the University of Pretoria will be able to ensure that future SRC elections are less problematic.”
Similarly, Thabo Mdlalose, Deputy Chairperson of COPE@Tuks said “The releasing of the results is something COPE@Tuks has always been in favour of since the election results were withheld last year, thus, we as a party welcome this ruling.”
PASMA, however, have different views and concerns regarding the meaning behind the verdict. Phillemon Pooe, PASMA treasurer, told Perdeby, “The verdict happened to be on AfriForum’s side and this therefore means that the university continues to become a political playground for AfriForum youth.” PASMA said that they wondered whether other political societies would have gone unpunished if they acted as AfriForum did during the 2011 Student Governance elections.
SASCO refused to release a statement until after their general meeting.
Last week UP said, “Although the university does not necessarily agree with all the court’s findings, it will respect the order and implement it without delay. Accordingly, the election results will be announced and the student parliament will be constituted in accordance with the judgment and the provisions of the Constitution for Student Governance.”
