MK Party expected to escalate competition at SRC elections
Similar to trends in national, SASCO has seen a loss of leaders across various universities, many of whom have joined the newly established MK Youth League.
Picture: A man wearing an MK Party shirt attends the Shekainah Healing Ministries Prophetic Pillowcase service where Former President Jacob Zuma was present, in Phillipi, near Cape Town, on March 10, 2024. Picture: GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / AFP
JOHANNESBURG - As universities gear up for this year’s SRC elections, the emergence of the Umkhonto Wesizwe Party is expected to escalate the competition.
In past years, the contest for leadership in higher education institutions was a close race between the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Students Command and the African National Congress-aligned South African Students Congress (SASCO).
Similar to trends in national, SASCO has seen a loss of leaders across various universities, many of whom have joined the newly established MK Youth League.
The Tshwane University of Technology recently held its SRC elections, which saw a tight race between SASCO, the eff students command and the new kid on the block, the MK Youth League.
But no party secured an outright majority in the institution, with both SASCO and the EFF students win winning 15 seats each, while the MK Youth League captured 10 seats.
EFF Students Command President Sihle Lonzi said that despite the MK Party making significant inroads, the red berets will continue to assert their dominance in universities.
"The EFFSC still enjoys a lot of support among the student base. So we are very bullish and confident about the upcoming SRC elections because we have put in the work."
However, the MK Youth League still needs to finalize its registration at some universities and, as a result, will not be participating in SRC elections at Wits and the Durban University of Technology.