Today (13 August 2018) marks the first day of voting for the long-awaited Student Representative Council (SRC) elections. I wish to call upon all students registered for formal undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications at the University of South Africa (Unisa), to seize this opportunity and cast their votes for their preferred student representatives.

The SRC is an important stakeholder that, inter alia, represents the views of the students and influences strategic direction and decision-making processes at the University. It is for that reason that bi-annual elections are conducted not only as a requisite governance and compliance undertaking, but primarily for purposes of affirming students’ wishes and aspirations in respect of their preferred representatives.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has officially opened for voting to start on Monday 13 August 2018 and to end on Friday 24 August 2018. Voting is mainly conducted electronically, which enables students to vote with greater accessibility and simplicity through mobile phones and electronic gadgets such as laptop computers. The IEC has also assembled voting kiosks at the majority of Unisa's Regional Centres in the country for students to use as voting stations. More details regarding the voting processes are available on the myUnisa portal.

I earnestly urge ALL students to participate in the 2018 Unisa SRC Elections to ensure that democracy thrives and that students are represented by the candidates of their choice who will ensure that the student voice is not only heard but also respected.

Dr Sibusiso Chalufu
Dean of Students
13 August 2018