Millions of Young South Africans May Not be Voting in the Coming Elections
The Independent Electoral Commission reports that at least 6 million young South Africans are still not registered to vote.
South Africans are set to cast their votes in the coming elections which will be taking place some time in May. The last official opportunity for South Africans to register to vote was on the 26th and 27th of January. However, according to the DailySUN, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has reported that 6 million South Africans under the age of 30 have still not registered to vote.
The CEO of the IEC Sy Mamabolo said:
"The IEC hopes young voters will use the short window of opportunity ahead of the announcement of an election date to register at local IEC offices. Once elections are proclaimed, the election roll will close."
In other words, until President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared the exact date of the elections, South Africans still have some time to ensure that they are registered to vote.
South Africans under the age of 35 have historically and on average, had a low voter turnout in past elections. This is in spite of South Africans under the age of 30 having comprised at least 80 percent of the 700 000 new voters who are now on the voting roll.
Sentiments of not wanting to participate in the upcoming elections among the youth have been rife. Political analysts have also cited these elections as possibly being the most contested elections in the history of South Africa's fledgling democracy.