US electoral chief says Student Court acts outside its powers

22 August 2016  

Calumet Links, the Chief Electoral Officer of the Student Representative Council (SRC) of the University of Stellenbosch (US), revealed in a report submitted to the Student Court that this Court simply went ahead with court proceedings and that he had been deprived of his function to investigate complaints of transgression of election rules.

This follows after AfriForum Youth candidates for the SRC of the US were excluded from the election in an unfair manner and without valid reasons, and after the civil rights organisation brought an urgent application to the Cape Town High Court to compel the US to reinstate the candidatures of these SRC candidates.

Links’ report also mentions that complainants did not follow the correct procedures to put their case to the Court, as electoral officials were not given 24 hours to investigate the matter.  

Bernard Pieter, SRC President Candidate, is of the opinion that the US does not even adhere to the Student Constitution that created the Student Court as body, and acts completely outside their powers. The report also states that the Student Court had unnecessarily interfered in the SRC elections. 

The Western Cape High Court ordered on Friday, 19 August 2016 that the US had to submit reasons for the Student Court’s decision by today.  AfriForum Youth has already received the reasons and is currently studying it. The order also prohibited the continuing of the SRC election until this issue has been finalised.

Issued by Bernard Pieters, SRC President Candidate, 22 August 2016