Seventy percent of young people feel there is no good reason to vote in the upcoming municipal elections, a survey revealed on Monday.
Cynicism and ambivalence among potential voters suggests voter turnout could be as low as 41%, compared with an average of 48% in the last two local elections, the survey found.
It showed that while three-quarters of adults across all race and language groups felt there are many good reasons to vote, 18- to 24-year-olds were most likely to disagree.
The Research Surveys study was based on face-to-face interviews with 200 people in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town, East London, Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein.
”An alarming 41% of those who say there are many good reasons to vote in the … elections also feel that there are many good reasons why they do not feel like voting,” said Research Surveys director Neil Higgs.
Fifty-four percent of coloureds and Indians and 46% of whites said there are many good reasons they do not feel like voting. This sentiment was lowest among Xhosa-speakers.
Cynicism was rife, with 44% agreeing with the statement ”You can achieve very little by voting in the local elections because, no matter who you vote for, nothing ever happens”.
However, 63% agreed that voting achieves a lot, as one can ensure good people are elected.
According to the survey, this showed ambivalence among potential voters, especially as 30% felt voting is a waste of time because councillors do not help them.
In Cape Town, 40% believed local councillors do not help their constituents, with little difference across the country between age groups, language groups and cities.
According to the survey, voter turnout could be increased to 47% if those saying they ”don’t know” could be persuaded to vote.
It could also be increased by persuading the cynical and ambivalent that things would be different and would change this time.
Persuading the same people that councillors would visibly help their constituents on the ground after the elections could also help.
”There is clearly the potential for a lack of belief in the value of the local government election process: if people do not believe in it, turnout will be low,” Higgs said. — Sapa