With the Local Government Elections drawing nearer, the Electoral Commission is facing the persistent challenge of disengaged young voters. In a renewed push to address declining participation, the Commission is set to visit Taletso TVET College in Zeerust next week Wednesday as part of its annual Tertiary Institutions Campaign.
Operating under the banner “Save the date, democracy needs you,” the initiative aims to encourage registration, provide voter education, and foster active civic participation among the youth.
To discuss the driving forces behind voter apathy, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the Electoral Commission, Sy Mamabolo, along with governance, politics, and development specialist Lukhona Mnguni, joined a recent discussion on the matter. Their conversation came as new voices from the public highlighted the deep divisions in sentiment among young South Africans.
In vox-pop interviews, a young voter expressed determination to participate, stating, “I’m definitely going to vote because I feel like we need change in this country and it can only start with the youth.” However, this optimism was countered by another voice who declared, “No, I’m not going to vote… as youth we not working… government each and every year changes. So I don’t think it’s necessary for me to vote because nothing ever changes.” A third perspective emphasized the importance of engagement, saying, “We are the generation of the future. Therefore, we need to take part in what’s happening in our country.”
Mamabolo acknowledged the difficult trend, noting that general voter turnout is edging downwards in a worrying way. He stressed the importance of persistent engagement, stating that the IEC cannot tire of providing young people with civic and democratic education. “Even if not all of them are able to register, one more will be much more important to increase confidence in the democratic life of the country,” he said. He explained that the activation at Taletso TVET College on Wednesday, the 18th, is twofold: to engage young persons in debates around civic education and to ensure first-time entrants at the college have an opportunity to register.
Mnguni expanded on the complexities of participation, noting that while protest is a ubiquitous form of democratic engagement in South Africa, it does not yield the same outcome as voting. He pointed to a crisis of legitimacy, stating that research shows people have lost faith in politics as a mechanism for transformative development. “One of the things that is quite clear in some of the work and research that we have done is that people have lost faith in politics as a mechanism for transformative development in society,” Mnguni said. He added that citizens often feel all politicians are the same, which drives them to look for solutions outside the political process.
A caller from Sasolburg echoed these sentiments live on air, explaining his refusal to vote by pointing to a lack of service delivery three decades into democracy. “I don’t see it necessary for me to go back to the vote,” the caller said. “Apparently, when we can check this 30 years ago, we still living in the same situation… we voting for somebody to get rich and his friends and the family but they don’t care about the vulnerable people.”
Mamabolo reinforced that this disillusionment is part of a global trend of democratic backsliding. He warned against opting out of the system entirely, arguing that the duty of the IEC is to ensure people understand that “the answer is not to opt out of democracy but to remain engaged and make choices within the system.”
Mnguni concluded by linking voter turnout to the tangible “democratic dividend,” noting that when people see incomplete infrastructure or unimplemented commission recommendations, their faith in democracy erodes. He called for a reimagining of the electoral system to help citizens feel a direct value in casting their vote.