By SIMTHANDILE FORD and SINO MAJANGAZA
The dramatic University of Fort Hare SRC elections have seen the Democratic Alliance Student Organisation (Daso) losing all control in the institution and the PAC’s student wing Pasma winning a campus for the first time.
Sasco also regained ground at the Alice campus.
Although Sasco now governs the overall institutional SRC, the victory was not easy after it experienced tensions with its alliance partner, the ANC Youth League (ANCYL).
At the East London campus the ANCYL refused to support Sasco after the ANCYL was removed from the ballot papers under the instruction of the ANCYL secretary-general Njabulo Nzuza.
The youth league in the East London campus is believed to have voted for Pasma.
Pasma chairman Zukisani Nyewe told DispatchLIVE that the breakdown of relations between Sasco and ANCYL worked in their advantage.
“We have worked very hard to be where we are today. We are delighted with the outcome of these elections,” said Nyewe.
Sasco chairman Phumlani Msenge conceded defeat on the East London campus but said the hard work of the organisation has won them control of the institutional SRC.
“Sasco is now leading the University of Fort Hare,” said Msenge.
Ndimphiwe Toli, first secretary of Pasma at the East London campus, said they were only five when they introduced Pasma at the East London campus.
“A year after we established the branch, we contested the elections and we only got 75 votes, but we were never discouraged,” he said.
He said they continued to make the organisation known to students and we noticed that our membership was growing gradually.
In 2014 elections Pasma received two seats, “and the organisation became very popular among students”, said Toli.
Daso was barred from taking part in the Alice campus and institutional elections after they missed the March 24 deadline of submitting the list of candidates. They only contested in East London.