High School learners are being encouraged to register to vote ahead of the last registration weekend. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in the Northern Cape has extended its voter education to High Schools. Kimberley Boys High pupils were encouraged to participate in democratic processes.
The IEC went around the province visiting high schools registering pupils with identity documents. The head of the IEC in the Northern Cape, Bonolo Modise believes voter education is crucial.
“IEC Northern Cape people between the ages of 16 and 18 are just coming into the voting system. In other words, they would be voting for the first time and for you to just go into a station and put an X on a ballot paper without understanding the impact; the need for you to do that would defeat the purpose.”
There was excitement among those registering.
“In today’s society, many young people are not concerned about today’s political environment so I think that it’s important for young people to educate themselves about voting because; maybe you don’t care about it right now, but in the future, it’s going to be us that’s going to be in that kind of environment and we going to be in control of what actually happens.”
“I think that it is very important for my peers to be voting because if you have a close look at the complainant’s, it’s actually the youth that is complaining about what is happening in our society.”
The commission hopes that this drive will make an impact and increase registration and voter turnout among the youth in this year’s national elections.
