By: Siyabonga Goni
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) banner at workshop at V&A Protea Hotel in Cape Town. Photo captured (Samane Jnr Marks)
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) confirmed that out of the 3.3 million total registered people, about 700,000 youth under the age of 30 in the Western Cape have successfully registered to vote in May 29, 2024.
The IEC hosted its election media training workshop at V&A Protea Hotel in Cape Town for preparation of the national elections.
The workshop mainly looked into arrays of things surrounding elections, which included voting process, the special voting process before election day, changes in voting stations, vote counting, and IEC job opportunity recruitment.
Inside the venue/ auditorium where the workshop was held, at V& A Protea Hotel. Photo captured by (Nhlanhla Mabunda)
The IEC’s Provincial Electoral Officer of the Western Cape, Michael Hendricks, applauded the significant increase in the number of young people who registered for the upcoming elections.
“Young people under the age of 30 have heard the call to vote,” he said.
If you look at the overall number of young people who have registered, “there has been an increase. And I think it’s going to be important by participating, young people are ensuring that their issues are also now front and foremost.”
Hendricks explained the “IEC aims to provide job opportunities to young people during this election, which will be carried out by the number of voting stations in the WC, and that the IEC has been transparent about how young people can apply for jobs.”
Young people have been applying to be elected as officials on election day. “I think it’s important that young people are also participants in the election process because they are at the voting station and can see our democracy in action,” said the Provincial electoral officer.
IEC banner outside the workshop at V&A Protea Hotel in Cape Town. Photo captured by (Samane Jnr Marks)
Following the IEC's statistics on registered youth, Cape Peninsula University of Technology students shared their views of why the youth are ready to cast their votes on the ballot.
Akhanani Notshokovu, a diploma in management student, said the “youth is now more informed about what they want and the direction of the country.”
Notshokovu, further explained there is now awareness of the “issues that South Africa is facing right now, like inflation and a lack of job opportunities.”
Meanwhile, unemployment was at the forefront of the CPUT’s youth conversation. Singalakha Mbovane, a diploma and real estate student said that the young people have seen the motives of political parties.
“We are aware that public participation is important as it could be beneficial for the country.”
According to the IECs website, over 27 million people have registered to vote for the National elections, in which 3.3 million people from that total are in Western Cape and they are expected be making their way to the voting station on May 29, 2024, to vote.
While the Democratic Alliance (DA) Western Cape premier candidate Alan Winde was on the campaign trail on Tuesday in Athlone on the Cape Flats as he highlighted his party’s pledge to create 800,000 jobs in the next term of office.
Winde, the provincial incumbent, is leading the party’s cause to get re-elected as the governing party in Western Cape. In just over 40 days, on 29 May, South Africans will go to the polls to elect leaders at the national and provincial levels.
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