Youth must grab last chance to vote

Say what you like about older people – and there are many who like to say they are out of touch with a fast-changing world – they take their civic responsibilities seriously.

That is evident in the fact that more than 86% of people in the 50+ age group have registered as voters.

That compares with around 20% who have done so in some younger age groups.

This situation could have profound implications, not only for the coming polls, but also for the future of our country.

Let’s consider what happened in the United Kingdom in 2016, when the then prime minister, David Cameron, called a snap referendum on whether the country should leave the European Union.

Expecting that Britons would vote to Remain, he and others were shocked when the Leave faction won by a slender majority.

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And one of the major factors in that vote, which set in motion Brexit, was that most of those who voted to leave were older people.

How will a bloc of older, probably more conservative, voters, affect our election?

It could well be to the benefit of the ruling ANC because, despite its manifest failures, many of its members are old school and have a strong emotional attachment to the organisation.

This is a party in which they – and likely their parents and grandparents – were raised… and those bonds are hard to break.

At the same time, younger people cannot complain that they feel alienated from what is happening in our country and say that change is needed – if they do not themselves get out and register.

This weekend is the last chance anyone will get to register to vote – so if you haven’t, then do so. Encourage others to do likewise.

As the saying goes: “You’ve got to be in it, to win it…”

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