A recent survey has shown that almost 18 million unregistered voters in the country are under the age of 40, allowing political parties the opportunity to target this demographic ahead of the 2024 national general elections.
The SA Voter Sentiment Report highlights the glaring gap in youth representation within the registered voter base.
According to the report: “Less than 20% of South Africans aged 18-19 years and only 40% of the 20-29 age group are registered voters. There are almost 7 million unregistered voters under 30 years and close to 11 million unregistered voters under 40 years of age. This data underscores a substantial opportunity and highlights the urgent need to mobilise the youth vote.”
The survey, conducted between October and December 2023, is the result of a collaboration between the WhyFive Insights, MoyaApp, and SilverstoneCIS.
Brandon de Kock, WhyFive’s Director of Storytelling, said the SA Voter Sentiment Survey was a ‘fascinating deep dive into the perceptions, needs and drivers that will affect voter behaviour’.
“As South African businesses with a deep interest in the future of our country, we have been motivated by a desire to look deeper than the ballot box and determine the possible motivations behind every ‘X’ on each piece of paper that dictates who gets to steer the ship for the next cycle.
“Our intention was to measure the mindset and drivers behind voter decision-making, rather than possible results. We aimed to investigate what the big shifts might be in the landscape, and just how big or small the surprises may be that lie in store,” De Kock said.
He said more than 12 000 eligible South African voters participated in the survey through diverse channels, including email, SMS, and WhatsApp.
“What is unique is that this outreach to voters was entirely through politically unaffiliated bases. This methodology ensured a near-random total raw sample fully inclusive of our rural populations, providing a comprehensive view of voter sentiments.”
The full report will only be released next year.
The Mercury