High unemployment among the youth, gender-based violence and a lack of opportunities were some of the reasons young voters are not going to the polls.
These were some of the frustrations shared by young people during a virtual engagement that was organised by the Speaker of Council, Cllr Nonceba Molwele, on Wednesday evening, 8 September 2021.
Cllr Molwele had organised the engagement, dubbed “Elections under Covid-19”, as part of a voter education campaign ahead of the November 1 local government elections. She conceded that Covid-19 had forced the City and the government to relook how it operate under the new normal. “Local government consists of municipalities, which are really at the coalface of service delivery. We now need to closely look at what it means to hold local government elections under the pandemic,” said Cllr Molwele.
Dr Thina Nzo, a senior researcher at the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI), said the current pandemic has forced the government and political parties to think out of the box ahead of the elections.
“Political parties and independent candidates must come up with innovative policy suggestions. This must also be seen as an opportunity to confront the frustrations amongst electorates especially youth. The youth are looking for manifestos that will change their social and economic landscape in their cities,” said Dr Nzo.
She said voter apathy was a world-wide phenomenon and South Africa was not an exception. She implored local government and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to use social media to engage the youth.
“The youth are on social media. They are talking on social media. They are expressing themselves and sharing some of the innovations. Tap into those platforms. We need our politicians to tap into what we call e-democracy. This is the time to use e-democracy in the developing country such as South Africa,” she said.
According to Dr Nzo, the 2016 polls saw only about 57% of voters turning out at the polls.
Aluwani Chokoe, the spokesperson for the National Youth ICT Council, said it would be a tragedy for local democracy if young people sat at home and did not to vote.
“The previous generation was denied access to many things. The first democratic elections in 1994 was a turning point in our country. People were killed in cold blood. To ensure that our democracy works, we need to be active participants. It is injustice when we sit at home and not participate in the process that our forefathers fought so hard for,” said Chokoe.Siyabonga Thwala, an SRC representative at the University of Johannesburg, said young people were disillusioned and felt their voting doesn’t change the status quo. “Young people want to know what transformation their voting will bring in their lives. We have the highest unemployment especially among young people.”
Thomas Sigama, a representative from the Department of Home Affairs, said over 375 000 identity documents and smart cards remained uncollected in their offices, with the highest numbers being from Gauteng and Johannesburg.
“We will be opening all our offices during the voters’ registration countrywide. We are urging people to come forward to collect their ID documents,” said Sigama.
Rafick Charles from IEC said it was ready to conduct elections and encouraged voters to use its online facility to register to vote.
“The IEC has recently initiated a process where voters can register online or change their addresses without leaving their homes. You can be able to create your profile. The system will put you in your correct voting district. The voter will receive an SMS confirming the registration,” said Charles.
08/09/2021