Student Representatives Council
The Student Representatives Council (SRC) derives its existence from the Statute of the Nelson Mandela University and is bound by all applicable directives contained in the Statute, as well as in applicable provisions of the Higher Education Act 101 of 1997 and the Constitution (Act 108 of 1996) of the Republic.
The SRC recognises the authority of the University Council and is bound by the Council’s rules, policies and procedures. The SRC shall cooperate with Council and university authorities in order to achieve the objectives of good student governance.
​
Clause 11.1 of the SRC Constitution states thus: "In the interest of clarity, the University Council, shall in its discretion institute an interim SRC in circumstances where an SRC has not been instituted or no longer exists for whatever reason, and this is applicable, but not limited to, declarations of disaster or emergency by a duly empowered organ of state in terms of national law." On the back of this clause, the university postponed the 2020 SRC elections due to COVID-19 and declared that Accordingly the elections will be held by 30 March 2021.
​
The SRC shall be composed of thirteen (13) members. The Premiers of the five campuses shall be ex officio members with full voting rights. Ex officio members shall have the same rights and duties as other members, save that they are automatically removed as members on loss of the office by virtue of which they are members.
Objective and Scope
of the Election
The Dean of Students has appointed an Electoral Commission (EC) to conduct the SRC election.
​
The primary task of the Electoral Commission is to manage the election of the CSRC and LSRCs. The Electoral Commission must be independent and impartial and must exercise its powers and perform its duties without fear, favour or prejudice.
​
The Dean of Students has also appointed Mr. Thobile Thomas to be the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). The CEO is a member and chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).
​
The terms of office of the CSRC and LSRC members is one academic year beginning in January and ending in December. No individual member may serve on the CSRC or LSRC for more than two terms whether consecutively or separately.
​
The NMU SRC elections are conducted for the Central SRC (CSRC) as well as FIVE Local SRCs (LSRCs). In addition, the elections are held to select
Electoral System and Voting Method
The electoral system for the directly elected members of the CSRC shall be a system of Proportional Representation.
​
The electoral system for the election of the LSRC’s shall be a system of First-Past-The-Post
For electing the Disability and Special Needs Officer and the International Officer a simple majority system will apply.
The allocation of the nine (9) CSRC portfolios and all six (6) LSRC portfolios shall occur in the manner set out in the SRC Constitution.
​
An organisation which has been allocated a portfolio/portfolios, shall deploy a candidate/candidates from its approved nomination list (see par 8.1 above) to such portfolio/s;
Deployment of candidates to portfolios by an organisation must adhere to a quota of not less than fifty per cent (50%) of women.
​
In order for the SRC election to be accepted as having delivered a legitimate and representative SRC, a percentage poll of at least 20% shall have been achieved. This percentage is calculated as follows:
​
Total number of votes cast, expressed as a percentage of the total number of full-time contact students, excluding Master’s and Doctoral students.
If the threshold has not been achieved, the Vice Chancellor and Principal may nevertheless endorse the elected SRC, subject to such conditions as it may deem appropriate, if it is of the view that such endorsement is in the best interest of the Student Community and the University. Such endorsement would entitle the Dean of Students to formally constitute the SRC.​​
Eligibility
Any full-time, registered student may be elected to the SRC, provided that he/she meets the following requirements:
​
-
Has not been found guilty of any misconduct in their entire student life in Nelson Mandela University.​
-
Shall have rendered a satisfactory Academic Performance as follows:
​
-
In the case of first time entering undergraduate students, shall have achieved a pass mark in at least 50% of all the modules they have been registered for. Compliance with this requirement shall be established from all the marks captured for those modules on the relevant institutional system by the end of July.
-
In the case of all other students, subject to section (c) below, shall have met the current academic requirement for a NSFAS loan Students registered for postgraduate programmes are deemed to have rendered satisfactory academic performance.
Student political organisations will be allowed to contest Central SRC elections if they have a registered branch in each of the five (5) campuses of the university.
​
A student political organisation will be deemed to have a branch in a campus when it has regular programmes in that campus and a minimum of 100 members registered, recognized and audited by the Department of Student Governance and Development at the end of the first semester;
