Despite the over 2,9 million South Africans who turned up at voting stations this past weekend to ensure that they are registered to vote in next year’s general elections, some analysts have expressed concern over the nearly 14 million eligible young adults who did not bother to register and vote in the last election in 2019.
Young adults are considered the largest and most influential voting group in the country, yet it seems there is a lack of appetite to show-up at the voting booths.
In 2022 Stats SA estimated there are around 2,6 million young adults between aged 20 to 39 and more than 5 million between the ages of 15 and 19.
In South Africa one can register to vote at the age of 16 and start voting once one turns 18.
After its first leg of voter registration weekend held on 18 and 19 November, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said in a media briefing that just over 227 000 people in the Western Cape registered to vote during weekend.
There was a total of 568 374 new registrations across the country, of which 445 089 were from people between age 16 and 29.
“A substantial majority who came onto the voters’ roll are young people,” Sy Mamabolo, the IEC’s chief electoral officer said at a media briefing on Monday. “The commission’s continued focus on young people is producing a good yield. It will persist with efforts to improve the registration levels of youth.”
Tessa Dooms, a policy analyst, recently told News24 that young people have the numbers to win an election.
“There are 14 million unregistered young people in this country,” she said. “The last election the ANC only got 10 million votes. If those 14 million young people showed up (and voted for one party), they could unseat the ANC.”
David Frost, the chairperson of Paarl’s Ratepayers Association, told Paarl Post it is absolutely pertinent that all eligible voters participate in the election. “What people need to understand,” he said, “is that even if this is a national and provincial election it will still have an impact on the different tiers of government, which are interdependent, and with local government in mind in particular. I’m a firm believer in the notion that voting is not merely a right but a privilege, where we get to decide who will govern our areas.”
Frost added that more needed to be done to boost voter education and appetite among the youth.
“Voter education begins at home. One would expect parents and guardians to teach their children about the importance of participating in our democratic processes. I would even go as far as saying that schools need to have more dialogue with their learners on why they need to vote as soon as they reach the eligible age.”
Mamabolo said since its inception in July 2021 the online registration portal has proven to be a success.
“Over the registration weekend 196 511 transactions were recorded on the online facility. The provinces with the highest online registration are Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
“We urge those whose applications were not concluded on the system to return and finalise them. Efforts are also being made on our side to contact them to facilitate in conclusion of those incomplete registration transactions.”
He said the online registration portal remained active and citizens were urged to continue to use this platform to update their particulars.
