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The Student Court of Appeal of the University of Stellenbosch (US) on 9 September 2016 delivered verdict concerning the appeal of the eight AfriForum Youth candidates who are contesting the election of the Student Representative Council (SRC).

These candidates on 25 August 2016 applied for leave to appeal against the decision of the Student Court of this University regarding the suspension of the candidature in the 2016/2017 SRC election.

The Student Court of Appeal concluded that the Student Court made a mistake suspending the AfriForum Youth candidates from the election and that the Student Court furthermore dealt unlawfully and acted outside its authority to have the SRC election declared invalid. The verdict furthermore instructs that a new election process needs to be launched and that all charges against the AfriForum Youth candidates must be withdrawn unconditionally.

According to Bernard Pieters, candidate for SRC Chairperson, this appeal leaves room for candidates to lay charges again if necessary. “Any charges must be submitted at the Ballot Box Convener by today, whereafter findings must be made available by this week Wednesday.”

Pieters furthermore states that the Student Court’s attempts to hijack the election were stopped. “In accordance with the verdict of the Student Court of Appeal, the election process must once again be placed in the authority of the Election Convener, as required by the student constitution.” 

“It is a pity that an urgent High Court application and Appeal Court application at the Student Court of Appeal were necessary to hold the Student Court accountable and make it realise that AfriForum Youth didn’t violate any election rules. It is thus clear that unlawful action was taken against our candidates and we will also stand up if the rights of other students are violated,” says Morné Mostert, AfriForum Youth’s National Spokesperson.

Issued by Afriforum Youth