Privacy & POPIA
Effective 19 October 2026. This notice describes how this CPUT SRC Elections service handles personal information under South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA). The elections are for CPUT and administered by IEMSA.
What we collect and why
To process a nomination we collect your name, email, student number, campus, study category, acceptance and eligibility declarations, and required registration/supporter evidence. We use these records for account access, election administration, authorised screening and status updates. Submitted evidence may contain other students’ personal information; include only the required information and obtain their agreement before submitting it.
For contact-form and FAQ enquiries, we collect your name, verified email, subject where provided, and message. With your agreement, these are emailed to IEMSA and the site admin, with you copied in, and stored privately so authorised administrators can follow up or retry a failed send. Sending an enquiry does not create a candidate account.
Who can access it
Candidate evidence and academic screening information are private. Access is restricted by role and review stage to authorised election personnel. Organisation representatives can manage their nominee pool but cannot download candidates’ private evidence. Candidate names, campus/portfolio or organisation may become public only after vetting and authorised publication.
Email and hosting providers
Resend processes outgoing emails on our behalf, including your email address and the necessary message content. Our hosting provider stores the application and election data. Provider infrastructure may involve processing outside South Africa; contact the election team for details on the applicable arrangements and safeguards. We do not sell personal information.
Security, sessions and analytics
We use account passwords, email verification, access controls, private file storage and audit records. Session cookies keep your sign-in secure. Optional anonymous browser-session counts use a random identifier kept for up to 24 hours in your browser. We respect browser Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control signals for these counts. Analytics do not store student records or raw IP addresses. Security and audit logs may record IP addresses and request context to investigate misuse.
Retention and correction
Unverified form data expires after ten minutes and is removed during subsequent cleanup, including associated unverified uploads. Verified nominations, communications and audit records are retained for election administration, disputes and applicable record-keeping obligations. Ask the election team about the retention period that applies to your record; we do not promise immediate deletion where a legitimate obligation requires retention.
Your choices and rights
You may request access to or correction of your information, raise a privacy concern, object to processing where applicable, or ask about deletion. We may need to verify your identity. Manage optional email preferences using the footer link or a private link in a nomination update email. Essential verification, account recovery and nomination updates remain enabled. Withdrawing optional email consent does not withdraw a nomination.
Contact and complaints
Email Cputelections@iemsa.co.za and info@cputelections.co.za with privacy requests. Please do not email passwords, OTPs or unnecessary identity documents. For concerns about the university’s processing, use CPUT’s official privacy and Information Officer channels. You may also approach the Information Regulator South Africa.
This notice does not replace the university’s applicable privacy notices or election regulations. The election office can clarify the responsible party and its authorised Information Officer for a particular request.