Young people not apathetic to voting, they don't trust political parties, govt - IEC

JOHANNESBURG - The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has found that young people have a high distrust of political parties, leading to them staying away from the polls.

The Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) held a media briefing on Wednesday, where it announced that it had officially begun preparing for the upcoming local government elections.

Part of the preparations include voter registration drives, which will be targeted at getting more young people to vote.

The 2024 general elections recorded the lowest voter turnout in the country’s democratic history, with 58% of all registered voters casting their ballots.

IEC deputy chief electoral officer, Masego Sheburi, said the commission had conducted research to understand why young people were averse to participating as voters and political candidates.

"Young persons have had disproportionately fewer opportunities to register and therefore the commission persists with its bias targeted at young persons to invert their under-representation on the national voters roll."

Sheburi said the research showed that young people were not apathetic but had experienced dividends from the democratic experience.

"Added to that is a stubborn mistrust of key political institutions, which includes political parties and government at various spheres. Those are the key considerations that drive abstinence from young persons. It is not that they are disaffected or not interested in the affairs of the country."

ALSO READ: IEC says it's unlikely electronic voting will be used in upcoming local govt elections