Progressive Youth Alliance beats EFF in SRC poll at Wits
The Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA) has emerged victorious in the 2018/2019 Student Representative Council (SRC) elections at Wits University.
The group is taking over the reins from the Economic Freedom Fighters Student Command (EFFSC). According to results posted on the Wits Twitter stream‚ only one of the 13 contested seats went to the EFF.
🗳️#WitsSRCElections: For a detailed breakdown of the results of the Wits SRC Elections, please see the table below.
— Wits University (@WitsUniversity) October 18, 2018
📄The full list is available outside the SRC Elections Office, 1st Floor Matrix Building. pic.twitter.com/s5Dp7vZ2OF
The PYA comprises the ANC Youth League‚ the South African Students Congress (Sasco)‚ the Young Communist League (YCL) and the Muslim Students’ Association (MSA). In the previous election‚ the EFF scored 12 out of 15 seats.
The loss comes after EFF national spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi visited the campus on Monday to campaign for votes. EFF leader Julius Malema also tried to rally support. His party tweeted a video that showed him voting for the EFF candidates at Wits. Malema is a registered student at the institution.
CIC @Julius_S_Malema a Masters Student at Wits University cast his vote successfully for the SRC 2018/2019 elections. Make sure you vote for all 11 EFFSC candidates #uPhephela pic.twitter.com/ZCw1nL999q
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) October 16, 2018
Following the EFF defeat‚ Malema took to social media to say they accepted defeat.
“We accept the outcome of the SRC elections at Wits and congratulate our @WitsEFF branch for putting up a good fight. Now let's remove our posters and clean up our university‚” he tweeted.
We accept the outcome of the SRC elections at Wits and congratulate our @WitsEFF branch for putting up a good fight. Now let's remove our posters and clean up our university.
— Julius Sello Malema (@Julius_S_Malema) October 18, 2018
Wits spokesperson Shirona Patel had earlier told TimesLIVE that the elections had been mostly peaceful‚ despite two violent incidents. She said that more students had participated in the elections compared to previous years.
Wits is one of the few universities where the EFF has failed to win campus elections.