By Farirai Dangwa
Crucial. The first word that comes to mind when thinking of the upcoming 2024 national elections. As the general elections begin approaching, first-time voters are concerned about which way to lean regarding where their vote could be heading. Members making up the youth vote within Makhanda are caught between deciding which political party could cause the least damage to an already fragile state. Out of 27.7 million registered voters in the country, 2.8 million make up the youth vote between 18 and 29. The youth of Makhanda make up 8 254 of these youth votes.
With South Africa’s thorny history of racism, discrimination, embezzlement, theft of state funds, and overall corruption, the stakes could not be higher. There are multiple levels of thinking going through first-time voters’ minds. Some believe their vote does not count, so why register? Others believe registering to vote is essential but do not know where to go. For some, everything seems up in the air, and when the time comes, they will do what feels right.
Grocott’s Mail interviewed young voters who mainly emphasised the importance of the upcoming elections, but a few of them had not registered to vote. Some said they did not see the point in registering, but interestingly enough, Andile Mfundisi said, “I was trying to register one day, and [the online site]wouldn’t take my ID number.” Mfundisi was not the only person who ran into this problem. After conducting multiple interviews, Grocott’s Mail found that several people tried to register online a few days before registration closed but could not access the site. With the IEC stating that they have a budget of R2.2 billion for national and provincial election preparations, one has to wonder what went wrong with this crucial part of the voting process.
Speaking to soon-to-be first-time voters, they expressed feelings of anticipation and passion. Even though some did not or could not register to vote, these youth are determined to get to the polls and vote for change. Even though there was a divide between what people think is the right way to vote, the consensus was that most people were not voting for the more popular or well-known parties. Some believe that a vote for these popular parties would be to the country’s detriment.
Another youth, Mychaela Davy, said, “All the parties’ goals seem very self-centred; no one is actually looking out for the country. No one wants to strive to solve all the unemployment, job creation, and inequality issues; they just want to be the person in charge who gets all the money.”
Having interacted with many youth, there seems to be hope for change within these upcoming elections, and the youth is ready to play their part in enacting that change.
Youth Puseletso Matlhake says, “I hope the youth voters recognise that their votes matter. They should not leave it up to chance or the older generation of the country because we are the ones who will inherit the country in less than a decade.”
The youth and citizens want change, and the country hopes for the much-needed change. The youth agree that even though you might not know where your vote is headed, you must go vote on Wednesday, 29 May 2024.
