Poobalan "Les" Govender (born 21 November 1954) is a South African politician from KwaZulu-Natal who is currently serving as the Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces.
[2] In the May 2024 general election, he was ranked 11th on the IFP's provincial party list for KwaZulu-Natal.
[3] He was elected as a permanent delegate of KwaZulu-Natal in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), the upper house of the South African Parliament.
[4] Elected unopposed, he was nominated for the position by Kenny Mmoiemang of the African National Congress (ANC) in terms of a coalition agreement between the ANC and IFP.
[5] He deputised NCOP Chairperson Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane, who had taken office almost a month earlier; the deputy chairmanship election had been delayed since then, reportedly because of a disagreement among the coalition partners.