Millions of South African voters cast their votes on Wednesday in a historic election that saw the participation of ‘born frees’ for the first time, but regrettably youth turnout was low.
‘Born frees’ refer to those born after the end of apartheid in 1994.
This year’s election will be the fifth under conditions of universal adult suffrage since 1994.
Independent Electoral Commission officials reported extremely low turnout of youths at many voting stations across the country.
“It is a concern, but it is still early days. We are hoping the youth will come out later in the day,” said Masego Sheburi, IEC provincial electoral officer.
The youth support is seen as an indicator for the country’s future political development.
The ruling African National Congress spearheaded the anti-apartheid struggle and has been a dominant party since 1994.
In spite of its inability to wipe out rampant corruption, create enough jobs and reduce inequality, the party still enjoys strong support from the black majority who were born under the rule of apartheid.
According to a recent survey, the party is expected to win the election with a comfortable majority of around 63 to 65 per cent.
For many first-time voters, this may not be the case. They are looking forward to make a difference.
At a polling station at the St. Paul’s Church in Rondebosch, Cape Town, a stream of voters queued to cast their ballots. Among them was Maseru Nudi, a ‘born free’.
“I felt no gratitude for the ANC because it failed to deliver adequate services to the poor and create enough jobs.
“I will definitely vote for DA (Democratic Alliance). I believe it can bring changes,” Nudi said.
It was at the same station that DA leader Hellen Zille cast her ballot early in the morning.
According to the IEC, more than 25 million eligible voters have been registered to vote.
This means that more than 10.2 million eligible voters have not registered.
South Africa could be heading for its lowest voter turnout of the past 20 years, with about 46 per cent of eligible voters not turning up.
In the 2009 election, the turnout rate was 77.3 per cent.
During the build-up to the May 7 election, there was much media attention on the ‘born-frees’.
Yet more than a million of these young men have note registered to vote. South Africa’s IEC said only 646,313 out of a possible 1.9 million have registered.
The government has urged its final appeal to all South Africans as voters begin to exercise their democratic right to vote, especially the young and first-time voters. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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Why vote for a party that has not delivered on its promises and will not likely deliver..? With over 70% black population...South Africans not turning out for registration and subsequently for voting shows a lot of displeasure for the ANC/
ReplyDeleteJust hope the youths won't be bribed to vote for..., the way they do in Nigeria///