With the youth being the Electoral Commission’s (IEC) main target audience for the 2019 National and Provincial elections, SABC News speaks to young people around Johannesburg to find out if they have heeded the call to register.
Out of the seven people we interviewed, four have not registered. Their reason for not having registered is thinking that after the last registration weekend of 26-27 January, registration had closed down.
This could not be further from the truth, as the IEC is continuing with the registration process for this year’s election on its website.
IEC Deputy Chief Electoral Officer, Masego Shiburi has urged potential voters to register before the proclamation of the election date.
“People can still register at the local offices of the IEC or you can go to the website elections.org.za or call our contact centre 0800 11 8000 and they will direct you to the nearest office of the electoral commission where you can still apply for registration until the President proclaims the date of the election.”
Shiburi says their drive to encourage the youth to register has been successful.
Listen below to IEC Deputy CEO, Masego Shiburi :
Despite the successes on the IEC’s side on getting youth to register during the last registration weekend, the sentiment we get from the young people we interviewed is that all the males interviewed have not registered whilst all but one of the females had registered.
These young people also shared their thoughts on how they would decide who to vote for.
Koketso Mohwasa from Pretoria says the party of her choice must have proven itself. “I will need proof, if they say they will deliver something. Is there proof that they have delivered on their promise?”
Tebogo Seabi says the party he will vote for must have a credible history. “Their actions, history, and how they have been influencing change” will help Seabi determine who to vote for.”
Seabi says he couldn’t register during the last weekend of registration. “I couldn’t register because I was busy sorting out my school stuff.”
For citizens like Seabi, registration is still open and anyone who is eligible to vote can visit the nearest IEC office or check their details on the following website: https://www.elections.org.za/regweekend/
You can look up your registration information from the link or call IEC call centre to change registration details over the phone.
According to Shiburi, registration is still open and will only close at 5 pm on the day of the proclamation in the government gazette.
Watch video below for more:
