Out of over 27 million registered voters in South Africa, 42% are under the age of 40.
Many South African social media influencers have been encouraging young people to vote, including Karabo “Kay” Mahapa, a TikTok and Instagram creator who boasts over 450,000 followers between both platforms.
Here are the key issues for young voters
Jobs
South Africa’s general unemployment rate of 33% is the highest in the world. This is the biggest issue for young voters. Approximately 45% of South Africans between the ages of 15 — the legal working age — and 34 are currently unemployed. As a result, the income inequality gap in the country continues to widen.
Corruption
In recent years, South Africa’s leadership has been implicated in several corruption scandals relating to the influence of private business interests on the government. As a result, many young people have grown wary of the ruling ANC party.
Education
Education is a major issue for young voters. Many Black-majority communities in South Africa lack adequite funding in a variety of areas, including at public schools, which are frequently understaffed and lack the necessary school supplies.
Crime
South Africa is struggling to curb rising violence. On average, 75 people are murdered every day, an increase of over 60% in the past decade, according to the South African Police Service’s annual crime report. Additionally, 1.8 million counts of serious and violent crimes were reported during the 2022-2023 financial year. Carjackings have more than doubled over the past 10 years as well.
Ailing infrastructure
Young South Africans are looking for the next government to fix the country’s infrastructure woes. South Africa experiences regular power cuts in order to prevent grid collapse, as it struggles to meet growing demand. Such cuts, referred to as load shedding, interrupt everyday life and pose additional challenges to businesses as well as critical infrastructure, like hospitals. In 2023, load shedding totaled the equivalent of 289 days, resulting in daily blackouts of between six to 12 hours across the country. According to the South African Reserve Bank, such blackouts cost the economy about $51 million (€47 million) per day.
This is what young South African voters want to see after the election:
Despite all this, election observer Blessing Vava from The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition has said he is concerned that he is not seeing enough young voters in polling station queues.
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