Durban - VOTE-RIGGING has led to the University of Zululand (Unizulu) suspending the outcome of the Student Representative Council (SRC) elections recently.
The elections, for the first time, were held online, a process which led to some students lodging formal complaints that someone else had voted on their behalf.
The university, however, did not provide details on who the alleged culprits were. The elections were won by the ANC-aligned South African Students Congress (Sasco). The Democratic Alliance Students Organisation (DASO) at Unizulu said they brought the matter to the attention of the authorities after some of their members could not vote because someone else had hacked into their student emails and voted on their behalf.
DASO chairperson Sthabelo Ntshangase said the voting system was compromised because, with student and ID numbers, it was easy to get into a student’s email account and access the link to the ballot papers.
“Once a person gets into a student’s email account they get the one-time pin which is used to get through the link to the ballot papers. Once you get to the ballot papers, you can vote and the legitimate account holder cannot exercise their right to vote because you vote once.”
Ntshangase said student numbers and IDs were easily accessible as they are written in some class registers. DASO said the decision by the university’s elections committee to suspend the election outcome and to institute a forensic investigation into charges of corruption and fraud were integral to ensuring the integrity of the democratic process.
“Endemic corruption is crippling South Africa and we cannot allow for corruption to infiltrate and sully our institutions of higher learning. As DASO, we call on Unizulu to review the online voting process thoroughly. Students’ access to their unique one-time pins, which were sent to their university emails, were allegedly open to access from other students who had their login details.
“This process of obtaining one-time pins needs to be made far more secure to protect against potential fraud,” Ntshangase said.
University spokesperson Gcina Nhleko said the university has adopted zero-tolerance towards fraud and corruption, and that the council’s decision was in keeping with this stance.
“Student representation plays a critical role in advancing students’ interests. It also serves as a training ground for future leadership and the entrenchment of democratic practice. Such representation is only sustainable when its legitimacy is not in question. The legitimacy of the democratic outcomes hinges on the integrity of the process. A fraudulent and compromised electoral process undermines the will of the students. Presented with incontrovertible evidence of possible fraud, the elections committee proposed that the outcome of the recent 2020 SRC elections be suspended pending the outcome of a forensic investigation,” read her statement.
The council endorsed the recommendations proposed by the elections committee that the outcome of the 2020 SRC elections be suspended forthwith; that a forensic investigation into the casting of votes is conducted as a matter of urgency; and that recognition and authority of the present interim SRC structure are extended pending the outcome of the forensic investigations.
Sasco deputy chairperson Mxolisi Khanyile felt the investigation was a ploy by the university management to keep them out of leadership.
“This system (online voting) was introduced by management. We were never told how it works. The management is hell-bent on having their puppets in the leadership of the SRC. We welcome the investigation but it has nothing to do with Sasco,” said Khanyile.
EFF Student Command branch co-ordinator Nkosiyapha Dumisa said they supported the university’s decision to investigate the corruption allegations.
Daily News