28/08/2019
PASMA_UP STATEMENT on 2019 SRC ELECTIONS
Revolutionary greetings to all Africanists, students, supporters and friends of the Pan Africanist Student Movement of Azania [PASMA].
First and foremost, PASMA expresses honour and gratitude to all the students who took their precious time from the 26-28 August 2019, to vote for candidates aligned to our philosophy. A non-racial, socialist, humanist, revolutionary and Africanist philosophy. We gain confidence from the support, love and trust that you have shown us. We take your support as a reaffirmation of PASMA’s role in safeguarding the interests of students at this university, where unfortunately “liberal” paradigms of political discourse are the business of the day.
PARTICIPATION IN THE SRC ELECTIONS
The 2019 UP SRC elections are a landmark for PASMA as a student movement, as they are the first since the re-establishment of this revolutionary student movement in this university. Our involvement in the process was not guided by the need to legitimize the system but to enter and expose its cruel nature which is replicated in how students especially African in particular are violated.
Many trials and errors were committed during the cause of the campaign, these are due various reasons however, what is positive out of this exercise is that many students began to understand what PASMA stands for and what it seeks to achieve, contrary to the views that “we are a bunch of Marxists anarchists”.
As mentioned in our manifestos; we still resolute that liberal electoral processes are not a free, fair and credible process. Those in power determine the outcome of the process prior its conclusion. In this instance, that is no different.
INSTITUTIONAL REPRESSION
We are able to confirm to all students, our supporters, voters and friends that the institution, through its arm; the Department of Student Affairs (DSA) and all its subsidiaries unleashed its natural repressive mechanisms towards the progressive and radical ideas. It is not something we were not expecting; they found us waiting for them and we showed them that we are sons and daughters of Africa and we are here to stay. The repression that we experienced is same as that has been experienced by other pan African representatives in this settler colonial state, the African continent and the diaspora.
Going to the elections, we were not oblivious to the fact that the university is hellbent on depoliticising the institution while holding on to the farce of the so called “independent and inclusive” type of student governance. In all reality, we have seen that this SRC elections thingie, is a play and a ploy to micromanage the student structures and maintain the status quo while victimising and oppressing any or all ideas which have the best interests of students.
The university through the mantshingilanism phenomenon, has managed to infiltrate the student populace through certain individuals in order for them to carry the institutional line of march against that of the students. Some are in the DSA, others in the SRC and other loafing around acting as if they are for us while they are against us, the students.
2019 SRC ELECTIONS
Very importantly, the 2019 UP SRC elections, like those of the years before were not free, fair and credible. The failure of the Electoral Commission and the dismal performance of IBM to maintain impartiality is proof of unfree, unfair and uncredible elections. The rules of the CSG were not adhere to, there non-consultations in changing of ballots, the persons whom were meant to attend to complaints were aloof and condescending and there was one “men” decision making process including the conflict of interest between all these structures. What more proof of a fuss which we alluded to earlier do you need.
The last straw, the University endorsed through an “appreciation” post, a candidate on its social media platforms with no regard to rules of fairness, this mocked the entire campaigning and elections process.
PASMA has no faith in the entire unindependent electoral commission, the IMB including the DSA for that matter. It is unfortunate that structures like the Constitutional Tribunal (CT) are also suffocated by these violent tendencies of the aforementioned structures and most recently the registrar. We call on all students to familiarise themselves with the work of the CT in order to protect the rule of law in this university.
We are clear in our resolve and we maintain that in the choosing of sides between that of the university management and the students, we choose the students. We encourage all the revolutionary activists in the university to never be despondent; an inhuman system has only one end, destruction. History does not have blank pages.
PASMA lives
Peace amongst the Africans, war against the enemy
Issued by PASMA-UP
Date: 2019 August 28
