The purpose of a student representative council is to provide the university student body with a platform from which to engage with the institution’s management about the needs and wants of students, assisting them as much as possible. Its mandate is derived from the process of annual elections that allow all students to vote for specific candidates and have access to their respective representative’s party or individual manifesto.
This unfortunately discourages student participation, because the dominant themes of the respective party manifestos and campaigns generally target students who support the party itself. The last SRC election at Wits University starkly demonstrates this. The Progressive Youth Alliance — which isn’t shy about its links to the ANC — won 12 out of 13 contestable seats from a turnout of only 26.41%. This can hardly be considered a legitimate voice of the people.
If one looks to pop culture, it is evident that the “dawn” of democracy is commonly associated with events such as the American and French revolutions. However, to the dismay of many people, the advent of “democracy” didn’t bring equality. Instead, elections have typically been used to ensure that the ruling faction remains in power.