Ann Eveleth
Before the 1994 elections, the African National Congress drew criticism from its opponents when it hinted that 16-year-old children should be allowed to vote. In those heady days of pre-liberation politics the youth flocked to the party’s campaign rallies and mobbed soon-to-be-president Nelson Mandela with the fervour of rock-star groupies.
This year, those 16-year-olds were old enough to vote for the first time, but many did not even register for South Africa’s second democratic election. Many youths aged 18 to 20 did not register (57,4%), and it is likely even fewer voted.
The Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) final youth registration figures (42,6% of 18- to 20-year-olds and 69% of 20- to 30- year-olds) were not nearly as bleak as early registration figures forewarned, due mainly to last-ditch youth registration drives by youth organisations and the IEC. Yet some 3,3-million eligible youth voters failed to register for the election. A further 877 000 of registered youths most likely did not make it to the polls, based on the 85% general turnout figures.
As political scientist Vincent Maphai points out: “People who were 18 this year were eight in 1990. They were generally never part of the struggles of the country, they were never involved in street fights with the police and it is unlikely that they were detained or tortured. So there was no great urgency for them in the elections.”
National Youth Commission chair Mahlengi Bengu says South Africa’s “declining youth activism is part of a global trend. It shows that we are becoming a normal democracy.”
But Bengu doesn’t think it’s a lost cause. “Young people do care about our democracy. But we need to appreciate that today’s youths have other ways of expressing themselves. Unlike their predecessors, they have a chance to actually be youth.
“But this means that we have to engage them in their language. I think the political parties realised very late that they needed to tailor their campaigns and manifestos for the youth.”
Some political youth leaders, like African National Congress Youth League secretary general Fikile Mbalula, believe the issue of non-participation has been “overblown by media hype. The ANC youth supporters all voted, especially in male-dominated black areas.”
But the smaller black political parties say they are already planning to mobilise what they see as an untapped political market. Inkatha Freedom Party Youth Brigade chair Mntomuhle Khawula says the answer lies in better targeted campaigns: “The campaigns of this election were too much like those in 1994. We need to change our campaigns to reflect the times.”
United Democratic Movement youth leader Xolani Mbutho says his party is already planning its strategy to bring more youths into the local government elections.
“We have to change the mindset of the youth. In the past they were involved in the politics of resistance, but today’s youth don’t realise that we have to fight another struggle – for the development of our people.
“The way to change that is to get youth more involved in structures all the time, rather than just for elections, through things like … civic education,” he says.
Bengu believes the key to greater youth participation lies in “the way society engages them. In many Scandinavian and European countries, the youth participate actively in decision-making structures.
“Here we are becoming more active, through participation in … [among others] the National Qualifications Boards. But this must permeate all sectors of society.”
But Maphai argues that it comes down to the issues on the table at election time. “The key issues that are relevant to today’s youth are education, crime, unemployment and whether they can get an apartment …
“If the election were about a 50% cut in school fees, I think the youth would all have gone to the polls.