Why South Africa’s youth voters are staying away from the polls

Despite the youth population continuing to grow, voter apathy among them continues to worsen – something that the Electoral Commission of South Africa attributes to the lack of opportunities.

The commission said fewer political parties had declared their donations above the R100 000 threshold compared with the period leading to the 2024 national and provincial elections.

Parties are expected to declare any donation above the threshold. Donations by state organs, state-owned enterprises and foreign governments and foreign government agencies are prohibited in terms of the Political Party Funding Act.

High youth population, low participation

StatsSA figures quoted by the IEC indicated that between 1996 and 2022, the total youth population rose from 14.7% to 21.6%, a 6.9% growth.

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The census also showed that young people in the 18-34 age cohort constituted a third of the country’s total population.

But all that has not translated into an increase in youth voters or youth participation in the electoral process.

While the total registered voters stood at 27 654 830 as of 22 April, young people aged 18 to 35 years constituted a mere 28% of the voters’ roll.

Trust deficit fuels disinterest

IEC deputy CEO, electoral processes, Masego Sheburi said young people had disproportionately fewer opportunities to register as voters.

They also had concerns regarding how they experienced democracy.

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“Related to that is a strong mistrust of the key political institutions such as political parties and governance institutions. Those are key political issues that drive abstention from the electoral process and it’s not that they are disaffected or are not interested in the election,” Sheburi said.

Election results analyst Michael Atkins shared the view, firmly believing that political parties were partly responsible for the youth apathy.

‘Surging voter fatigue’

Policy analyst Nkosikhulule Nyembezi said: “The GNU partners’ petty squabbles and their advancement of narrow political party interests spell trouble for ordinary people and are diminishing voter confidence.”

“With so much turmoil in our electoral politics lives, it is little wonder that South Africans are experiencing surging voter fatigue and declining participation rates in electoral politics.”

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