Voters will cast their ballots on May 8.
Youth voters say their needs are not fully catered for by the major political parties and they are disillusioned by the state of politics in the country.
Wits Vuvuzela spoke to young voters who say they are looking for an alternative voice that can offer viable solutions to problems facing the youth.
Haafizah Bhamjee, fourth-year Bachelor of Arts student, said, “The idea is that if we want new solutions to problems faced by the youth such as youth unemployment and the rising costs of tertiary education, then we need new voices and fresh perspectives.”
Wits alumnus Courtney Morgan said she prepared for her vote though a process of elimination; she looked through party manifestos and excluded the ones that raised points she was fundamentally opposed to.
“As a young person involved with climate justice work and women’s rights, there is not one party that I feel reflects our most pertinent issues at the moment; they all fall short on so many levels,” Morgan said.
According to a survey conducted by Media24, a sample of more than 2000 individuals revealed that 24% of first-time voters from the 53% born after 1994 will be voting for the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
Tumelo Tladinyane, third-year Bachelor of Accounting Science student, told Wits Vuvuzela that the politics of the EFF has a sway over the youth because it speaks to the “lived experience of the young black working class, who see the corruption of the ANC as telling as well as its ineffectiveness. They are wary of the DA who seem to be using black people as puppets to get their vote”.
Second-year Accounting Science student, Ammaarah Patel, said “Post Fees Must Fall, the radical posturing of the EFF toward an overturned South Africa is enticing, because even though we are the born frees, many black South African youth are still shackled by apartheid and what it left behind.”
The youth will be heading to the polls together with the rest of the country to cast their votes for the national assembly and the provincial legislatures on May 8.
FEATURED IMAGE: Danyaal Moosa (left) and Ammaarah Patel (right) stand outside Old Mutual Sports Hall, signalling with a thumbs up that they are excited and ready to vote on May 8.
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- Wits Vuvuzela, Nothing but promises for the youth, May 7, 2019
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