Despite the Independent Electoral Commission's reporting a positive turnout of voters across the country in the last registration weekend on March 5 and 6, a few residents from one ward chose not to register to vote for the upcoming elections.
Despite the Independent Electoral Commission's reporting a positive turnout of voters across the country in the last registration weekend on March 5 and 6, a few residents from one ward chose not to register to vote for the upcoming elections.
At least six people who live in Ward 12 — which is almost entirely comprised of Rhodes University, following its being declared a separate ward in the latest demarcation process — told Grocott's Mail that they had chosen not to register to vote last weekend. They gave various reasons, including a lack of interest in the local elections. And because students are the majority residents in Ward 12, they are, for the most part, the majority eligible voters in the ward.
Most students passed the Drama department, which was being used as a voter registration station, without bothering to find out what was happening there. “I didn’t bother registering or checking if I am on the list of registered people, because I don’t know who I am voting for and I don’t know of any local people who are running for elections,” said Asanda Sosibo, a fourth-year Rhodes student.
Fika Nqeto, a third-year, said he wasn't interested in local government politics.
Deneesha Pillay, a first-year, said she hadn’t registered. "I was really busy and forgot," she said.
Mbali Mazibuko, another student, said she was not voting because she didn't know much about politics and was not ready to make those kinds of decisions.
Registration was at the Rhodes Drama Department. Grocott’s Mail went to observe on both Saturday and Sunday. Officials were patiently waiting at the registration point, helping the few people trickling in. Saturday appeared considerably slower than Sunday.
As much as this low voter registration was disappointing, it was better than the first one in February, said an IEC official (who spoke on condition of anonymity because only a provincial spokesperson is allowed to make comments on behalf of IEC). Then, fewer than 100 people had registered on both days.
This time round, the number doubled. Last weekend was the final weekend for voter registration and more than 600 000 people registered nationwide. Throughout the weekend, ANC party agents were at the station to ensure that everything ran smoothly.
When asked about the students’ apathy about voting, member of the ANC task team, Thapelo Tsalapedi, said, “Students take registration as a social event. The hot weather on Saturday was probably one of the things that deterred people from coming to register, but the peak on Sunday really shows they are interested.”
“We didn’t expect long queues, because most people registered in the previous elections,” said IEC official Langa Kulati.
Another volunteer said she believed most voters had checked their details through SMS, the IEC website or the helpline.
