Outrage over ‘rigging’ of Pretoria student vote

STUDENT representative council (SRC) elections at the University of Pretoria, which saw the DA toppling AfriForum, were allegedly believed to have been rigged.

This emerged yesterday and immediately led to a protest at the main campus, following the tense and fiercely contested elections earlier in the week.

The Star’s sister newspaper, the Pretoria News, was denied access to the campus.

The SA Students Congress (Sasco), AfriForum and the EFF objected after the preliminary results were announced, saying the elections were not fair and the outcome had been manipulated.

The student political organisations, which were uncharacteristically united, claimed there were discrepancies in the counting of votes.

Sasco chairman Mi- chael Ngobeni said they had been notified by one of their party agents that the number of votes counted did not match the students registered to vote.

“One of our party agents notified us of a discrepancy at one of the voting stations in which the votes and the voters roll did not corre- late (58 more votes than voters),” he said.

Ngobeni alleged that their members had been intimidated into signing forms declaring the elections free and fair by the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC).

“Upon failing to resolve that dispute, and upon refusal of the IEC to recount the votes, our party agents were intimidated, harassed, in- sulted and called names. Due to fatigue, they were forced to sign the forms validating that voting station,” Ngobeni said.

The EFF’s Naledi Chirwa said photos were circulating on social media platforms of ballot boxes that were not sealed or accompanied by an IEC official when they were transferred from voting stations to be counted.

“We heard that there might be a recount of the votes, we don’t want that. We want re-elections because these votes have been marred,” Chirwa said.

AfriForum Youth’s Monique du Randt echoed the sentiments of the EFF and Sasco, but said they were consulting their legal team.

University spokeswoman Nicolize Mulder said the outcome would be determined by the IEC in line with the student constitution. The IEC was yet to respond.

Ballots don’t tally, boxes not sealed