Ané van Zyl
Nomzamo Ntombela won the chairman election fairly despite confusion surrounding constitutional provisions.
Ntombela was announced as the new chairperson at the chairman election meeting, but the decision was retracted soon after.
Romek Sadowski ran against Ntombela for chairperson, and Ntombela won with eight votes to seven.
Confusion arose surrounding the vote count and Dylan Swigelaar, the election convenor, decided to postpone the announcement.
“I made a mistake in the way I remembered the student court ruling and thought the minimum was 9 votes to win,” said Swigelaar.
“This is what caused the initial postponement and confusion over results. I went over the ruling again and realized the error.”
Swigelaar later announced via mass email that Ntombela had been appointed as chairperson.
Swigelaar made this decision along with Tonia Overmeyer, Dean of Students and Director of the Centre for Student Leadership and Structures, and Prof Sonia Human, Dean of the Faculty of Law.
“There was some confusion on the night around how many votes were needed to win the election, but this was cleared up – Nomzamo won the election fairly,” said Sadowski.
Sadowski explained that it was impossible to adequately relay enough information on a candidate to the general student population in order for them to make a suitably informed decision on the chairperson.
“The candidates sit with you through all your caucuses and I do think that they get a good idea of what you’re about in order to make a good decision internally as an SRC for the chairpersonship.
“I thought that I was the best candidate with the most experience and the best ability to empower the SRC to achieve its goals.”
Sadowski said he wanted to make a very explicit priority list and keep students constantly informed with the SRC’s progress on those issues.
“Students would then better understand the role of the SRC, and this would’ve gotten more students to engage, which would’ve strengthened the SRC’s power and influence further.
“I also wanted to orientate the SRC to be more project-based than portfolio-based, so that the SRC has the most experience and the best ability to empower the SRC to achieve its goals.”
Sadowski added that he wishes Ntombela and her team the best for a successful term.
