The time has come for the 2020 SRC elections season to commence. The 2020 SRC elections will take place in the midst of extraordinary circumstances created by the COVID- 19 pandemic.

Following a series of consultations and engagements with student leaders and various stakeholders, a decision was taken to continue with the 2020 SRC Elections fully online, building on the e-voting success that has been built over the past years. The decision was taken to make sure that the negative impact of COVID-19 is minimized and curtailed. If 2020 elections do not take place, the pandemic will continue to disrupt and undermine student governance processes at the University in 2021 and beyond.

Election dates

In accordance with Annexure A 2(4) of the Constitution for Student Governance (CSG), the purpose of this letter is to serve as an official announcement, and to declare the 2020 Student Representative Council (SRC) election season open. The 2020 election season starts today, on 21 September, and will run for six-weeks, culminating into the three days of e-voting from 26-28 October 2020.

Election structures

The 2020 SRC elections will be administered in terms of the Constitution for Student Governance (CSG) as approved by the University Council on 27 June 2019. The elections will be managed by the Independent Electoral Committee (IEC) in accordance with the constitution for Student Governance (CSG). Mr Michael Makobe has been appointed as the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the Independent Electoral Committee (IEC) and he can be reached using the following contact details: Mobile: +27 (0) 71 200 2381, Email: [email protected]. A dedicated email address is also created to allow students to send all queries related to this season of elections: [email protected]. All election-related structures have been established accordingly, including the IMB and the student IEC. An external auditing firm has been appointed to monitor the electoral procedures and processes.

Nominations for Students to participate in the 2020 SRC Election

Nominations open on 21 September 2020 and close on 01 October 2020 at 16h00. Prospective candidates should make sure that relevant nomination forms are duly completed and submitted to the Independent Electoral Committee (IEC) electronically by 1 October, in order to be considered as a candidate in this election season. In line with the rules in the CSG, no late submissions will be accepted.

Nomination Forms:

• The nomination process will be digitized and conducted through clickUP.
• Nomination forms will be available on clickUP.
• Aspects of the nomination process such as the collection of support signatures will be done online via ClickUP. All guidelines will be provided on time.
• Digitizing the process ensures that timestamps, signature authentication and other important information is verified, creating a process that has stronger integrity.
• Students will apply to run as candidates, and will be vetted based on CSG requirements and will be announced as candidates on various digital platforms, including clickUP.
• Students will be assisted with data requirements as needed to run their campaigns effectively and to support the candidature of their peers.

Elective portfolios

Nominations are open for the following elective portfolios:

• President
• SRC Secretary
• SRC Treasurer
• Facilities, Safety & Security
• Marketing, Media & Communications
• Study Finance
• Postgraduate & International Student Affairs
• Day Student & External Campus Affairs
• Societies
• Transformation and Student Success

Digital Campaigning:

• A fully digitized campaigning process will be launched, including all the traditional aspects of the elections, with additional aspects to assist candidates to have a wider reach within the student body.
• All arrangements are in place and digitization guidelines will be communicated to all candidates to guide preparations for online campaigning.
• Candidates will be assisted in creating e-manifestos that will be recorded and presented on clickUP and relevant additional platforms.
• Debates will be hosted on virtual conference platforms, with an opportunity to live stream on Facebook and to ensure that there is a wide reach. Through these virtual conference platforms, students will be able to interact with candidates and ask them questions and receive their responses. Additionally, call-in interviews on TuksFM will provide another level of interaction.
• Candidates will be assisted to take photos that will be used to create e-posters. The same photos will be used for the PDBY special edition. Candidates will also be assisted to shoot videos that they will use to advance their campaigns and to make their manifestos known to their peers.

Voting Process:

Continuous voter education will be provided using available communication platforms to ensure that voters are informed, ready and able to cast their votes.

Here is a snapshot of the actual voting process:

• At the start of the voting period, you will receive login details through your

@tuks.co.za Gmail account

• To begin voting, you will need to log into the SRC elections voter portal using the login details provided.
• Once you are logged onto to the SRC elections voter portal, you will have access to ten ballots.
• On each ballot, cast your vote for your preferred candidate, and click submit after you have reviewed your selections.
• After submitting your votes, you can download a paper copy of your receipt.