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UFS launches 2025/2026 student elections with strong focus on integrity and inclusivity

04 August 2025 | Story Lunga Luthuli | Photo André Damons

Prof Sethulego Matebesi, Chairperson of the University of the Free State Elections Logistics Committee for 2025 and Head of the Department of Sociology.

The 2025/2026 Campus Student Representative Council (CSRC) and Faculty Student Council (FSC) elections are officially underway at the University of the Free State (UFS), with nominations, which took place from 28 July to 1 August. The Elections Logistics Committee (ELC), chaired by Prof Sethulego Matebesi – also Head of the Department of Sociology – has implemented a robust framework to ensure that the process is transparent, fair, and inclusive.

Since the introduction of online voting in 2021, the UFS has been refining the system to increase accessibility, efficiency, and transparency. “Online voting has become a key part of our electoral process, offering students a convenient, secure, and transparent way to participate,” said Prof Matebesi. This year, the ELC also launched extended voter education campaigns, outlined clear procedural guidelines, and improved real-time monitoring mechanisms to build student trust and engagement.

Voting in the 2025/2026 CSRC and FSC elections will take place from 20 to 22 August 2025. Students are encouraged to use the online platform to cast their votes during this period.

At the heart of the elections is the principle of a ‘free and fair’ process. “At the UFS, this means creating an environment where all candidates have equal access to resources and platforms, and students can vote without fear or intimidation,” Prof Matebesi explained. The ELC is committed to ensuring that every student voice is heard – especially those of first-year students and others not affiliated with political structures.

Past challenges, such as low voter turnout, misinformation, and disruptive conduct during manifesto presentations, have informed this year’s strategy. “To address these issues, we have enhanced engagement through social media, webinars, and SMS reminders. I am impressed with how students and their leadership have embraced the feedback mechanisms we have introduced,” said Prof Matebesi.

Candidates and campaign teams are expected to uphold a strict code of conduct aligned with the Constitution of the Institutional Student Representative Council (ISRC). Enforcement measures range from warnings to disqualification in cases of misconduct. “Instilling respect and good conduct have a lasting impact. It is essential that candidates appreciate the responsibility that comes with contesting in these elections,” he added.

Now that the nomination phase has closed, Prof Matebesi encourages students to actively participate in the next phases. “Vote, engage with candidates, and promote respectful dialogue. Your participation strengthens student democracy and shapes the future of our governance structures. Together, we can create an election process that reflects integrity, diversity, and shared purpose.”

News Archive

nGAP lecturers welcomed by the UFS academic community

2016-06-30

Description: nGAP lecturers group photo Tags: nGAP lecturers group photo

University of the Free State’s newly-appointed nGAP
lecturers. From the left, Neo Mathinya,
Phumudzo Tharaga, and Kelebogile Boleu.

The University of the Free State (UFS) was allocated six positions as part of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) New Generation of Academics Programme (nGAP). Four candidates have filled positions in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of the Humanities and the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences – with two positions still vacant.

According to Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Blade Nzimande, nGAP is part of the Staffing South Africa's Universities Framework, which focuses on the expansion of the size and compilation of academic staff at South African universities, especially with regard to transformation. The focus of the programme is the appointment of black and coloured candidates as well as women.

The Department of Soil, Crop, and Climate Sciences in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences welcomed two nGAP lecturers, Phumudzo Tharaga and Neo Mathinya. The Faculty was allocated four positions. Two positions are filled, while two positions in the Department of Animal and Wildlife Sciences are almost ready to be filled with exceptional candidates.

Agrometeorologist with his feet on the ground
Phumudzo Tharaga holds an MSc from the UFS, and is currently pursuing a PhD. Tharaga’s research focuses on quantifying the water use efficiency of sweet cherry orchards under different climate conditions in the Eastern Free State. Tharaga will offer his students a wealth of practical experience, which he began accumulating while working at ABSA as an agro-meteorologist, before moving on to become a senior scientist at the South African Weather Service. In 2015, Tharaga became a research technologist at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and then returned to the UFS as an nGAP candidate at the beginning of 2016.

Beynon Abrahams, nGap lecturer
at the Faculty of Heath Sciences
Department of Basic medicine

Motivated scholar turned academic
Neo Mathinya, who hails from Taung in the North West, has made the UFS her home. She received both her undergraduate and honours degrees from the university. Apart from joining the department as a lecturer under the nGAP initiative, she is currently studying for her MSc in Soil Physics. She will continue with this research when she comes to her PhD. Mathinya’s research focuses on soil salinity - the process of increasing salt content - which affects the ability of plants to take up water, a process, known as osmotic stress. She will investigate the effects of irrigation water salinity on the grain yield and quality of malt barley.

Researcher with a passion for crime prevention
Kelebogile Boleu joined the Department of Criminology in the Faculty of Humanities, with a fresh take on diversion and crime prevention. Boleu holds a BA Criminology (Hons) and is now pursuing her Master’s degree. She worked for NICRO a non-profit organisation specialising in social crime prevention and offender reintegration, with programmes that prevent young and first-time offenders from re-offending, thus reducing crime. Boleu said that her practical experience makes her lectures to third-year criminology students exciting. Boleu’s research focuses on analysing the value of pre-sentencing reports in assisting adjudicators to make well-balanced judgments in cases.

Research with a winning plan for fight against breast cancer
Beynon Abrahams joined the Department of Basic Medical Sciences in the Faculty of Health Sciences. Abrahams holds a BSc, BSc (Hons), and MSc in Medical Biosciences from the University of the Western Cape. Abrahams’ Master’s research focused on breast cancer, research on which he is building in his PhD. This doctoral research involves the exploration of P-glycoprotein, a protein expressed on cancer cell and responsible for multi-drug resistance in cancer treatment. The aim of this research is to develop a therapeutic drug treatment strategy that will improve breast cancer patient survival outcomes. Abrahams’s greater vision is to look at conventional cancer therapeutic regimens, to find ways in which they can be improved.

The nGAP initiative offers these young lecturers an opportunity for growth and development as academics, while providing them with opportunities they would have not have been exposed to otherwise.

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