Court ruling puts SRC on hold
NASMO says they are 'overwhelmed' that the SRC results are ‘null and void’
THE functioning of the newly elected Student Representative Council (SRC) at the University of Zululand (Unizulu), has been temporarily placed on hold following a ruling by the Durban High Court on Tuesday.
Students belonging to the National Student Movement (NASMO) and National Freedom Party (NFP), obtained an urgent interim interdict against the university last week after disputing the election process and result.
NASMO and the NFP maintained that the IEC had not followed proper electoral conduct and that the university’s SRC election on 8 September was ‘not free and fair’.
On Friday, the tertiary institution confirmed that a group of students had obtained an urgent interim interdict against the university and others.
However, Unizulu Director of Communications and Marketing, Normah Zondo, said the university was opposing the application.
‘The interim order was obtained in circumstances where the university was not given a reasonable opportunity to oppose the application in respect of the interim relief sought. The effect of the interim court order is to put the operation of the newly elected SRC on hold pending the outcome of the court application, which is due to be heard on 13 October.
Unizulu has strict policies in place that govern the entire electoral process of the SRC,’ said Zondo.
Delighted
NASMO President Sboniso Majola told the Zululand Observer on Friday they were ‘overwhelmed’ by the court’s verdict.
‘We have raised concerns and lodged a number of disputes and objections with the IEC during the course of the elections where we pointed out that the IEC had not followed proper electoral conduct,’ Majola said.
‘The university management arrogantly announced the SRC election results last Thursday, despite our objections. We are delighted that the Durban High Court ruled that the SRC elections were null and void and they should be reconvened at the earliest convenience by the university.
We are quite prepared to resuscitate our electoral campaigns at the university,’ said Majola.
In response, Unizulu said the media statement by NASMO relating to the verdict ‘did not correctly reflect the position in terms of the court papers and current status of proceedings’.
