“School electoral team” means the school electoral officer together with the persons appointed to assist the school electoral officer in terms of the regulations.

The election of a governing body must be undertaken by—

1. a manual election;
2. an e-election.

e-Election means a governing body election in which electronic means are used in one or more stages.

Manual election means a full day election in which parents physically come to the venue to cast their votes at any time within the allocated hours of the day without any meeting held.

Schools must decide what mode of election they will offer.

In the case of a manual election schools may allocate timeslots when parents may visit the school to physically cast their vote.

Both modes take place over one full day that must start at 07h00 and end at 20h00.

Election Dates

The principal must make a voters’ roll for each of the following categories of voters, containing the names of all parents, educators and non-educators at the school who are entitled to vote at the school.

The voters’ roll for parents must be based on the school admission register and must consist of those persons whose names are recorded in the admissions register as parents, or who can show proof that they are parents of learners enrolled in the school.

There must be a maximum of only two parents per learner reflected on the voters’ roll for parents.

The voters’ roll for parents must be made available to parents for scrutiny at least 14 days prior to the election.

The parents may check the voters’ roll for parents to determine whether their names appear on it and raise a dispute with the principal within five days of the voters’ roll being made available.

The principal must finalise the voters’ roll for parents, educators and non-educators four days before the election and no names may be added after finalisation.

The electronic system chosen by the school for the election must provide a parent with:

• log on details with a unique one-time personal identification number to enable him or her to nominate parent candidates and to cast a vote
• online nomination form and ballot paper

Schools are required to set up at least one e-voting station at the school to make provision for those who wish to vote at the school.

Parents will receive a notice of the election from the principal 21 days before the election day.

The notice will determine the date, time slots and venue for—

• a meeting to validate the nominations from parents, which meeting must be held at least 10 days prior to the election; and
• an election of parent members

To nominate a parent candidate in a manual election, the parent of a learner at the school must lodge with the school electoral officer, not later than 11 days before the election, a nomination form duly completed by the proposer, seconder and parent candidate.

A meeting to validate the nominations from parents must be held at least 10 days prior to the election. The meeting will be chaired by the School Electoral Officer and will be attended by the School Electoral Team and the nominated candidates.

A parent may not nominate himself or herself.

At the nomination validation meeting the school electoral team will consider the nominations and reject the nomination of any parent who—

• has not been properly nominated
• is ineligible

The school electoral officer must compile a nomination list and notify the principal and the parents of the names of the parents whose nominations have been accepted.

If the total number of parent candidates whose nominations have been accepted is:

• less than the number of members required in respect of the governing body concerned the nomination process will be repeated for at least three times until enough parents are nominated for an election or it meets the total number of parents required for the governing body
• more than the number of members determined in respect of the governing body concerned a poll will be held
• equal to the number of the members needed in respect of the governing body concerned they are deemed to be elected

The poll must be held on the date and at the time and venue determined by the school electoral officer, in consultation with the principal.

The poll will take place either electronically (e-Election) using the Election APP chosen by the school or manually where parents can cast their vote at the school from 07h00 – 20h00 on election day.

The school electoral officer must issue every parent who is entitled to and wishes to vote with an approved ballot paper (physically or electronically) on which the school stamp appears.

A ballot paper will be rejected —

• on which the school stamp does not appear;
• on which more votes are recorded than the number of members to be elected; or
• which is completed in such a way that it is in the opinion of the school electoral officer uncertain for which parent candidate or parent candidates a vote was recorded.

No proxy votes are accepted for governing body elections.

If a quorum was not achieved at the poll the school electoral officer must inform the parents of the date of the follow-up poll.

A quorum of parents—

• consists of 10 per cent of the total number of parents on the voters’ roll having voted; and
• must be determined by the school electoral officer at the end of the poll.

The school electoral officer must notify each elected member in writing of his or her election and notify the principal and the district electoral officer within three days of the date of the election of the governing body in writing of the names and addresses of the persons elected as members

The outgoing governing body ceases to exist when the school electoral officer announces the newly elected parent members and declares the election to be free and fair.

The first meeting of a newly elected governing body must

• be held within 10 days after the election;
• be chaired by the principal;
• elect the office-bearers of the governing body; and
• determine the signatories for financial matters.