The Commission of South Africa (IEC) said it would intensify its campaign to get the youth to vote after research revealed that KwaZulu-Natal was one of the provinces with the highest number of young people who expressed discontent about democracy.
The IEC commissioned the Human Sciences Research Council to conduct a study ahead of the 2024 polls to gauge the electorate’s perceptions.
The council found that more than 80% of young people were undecided about casting their votes, while others planned to ignore the democratic process altogether.
KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, the most populous provinces in the country, show the highest numbers of undecided young voters.
The study found that the deepening distrust and discontent towards democracy and political institutions was a major deterrent for the youth.
There was high dissatisfaction with democratic leaders and equally harsh views of core political institutions, with a decline in confidence for parties and all spheres of government.
IEC deputy chief electoral officer Mawethu Mosery said the commission would use the research to increase civic education and encourage young people to participate ahead of the next voter registration weekend in February.
“Part of the findings was that young people are knowledgeable about the processes, but not sufficiently informed or motivated to go out and give meaning to their vote.
“We can still carry out civic education and encourage young people to participate in next year’s national general elections,” said Mosery.
The research found that 82% of the youth expressed their intention to abstain from voting in the coming election and this decision was not a result of apathy, but of dissatisfaction with democracy.
Mosery said this revealed that young people were disillusioned with the performance and value of government.
“They are questioning the value and impact of their vote and as a result will likely abstain from participating.
Abstention is not the best option to deal with disillusionment and we will speak to as many youth as possible to discuss how, by participating in the process, they can help fix the cause of their discontent.”
Mosery said this message also needed to come from those who would be contesting the elections.
“Parties need to provide young people with the hope, value and reason for them to vote. The message is: do not abstain and if you were the owner of this democracy, would you allow it to go in this direction without doing anything about it?”
He said the lack of young people participating in elections was a global phenomenon, but with young people making up 60% of the continent’s population, it was crucial that they had a say in their future.
“We will push our messaging in the next few months to make sure it reaches as many youth as possible. Their vote will make a difference because it is input to grow the economy and their environment,” he said.
The Mercury