Buffalo City youth brave queues for better jobs and political change
They listed unemployment and poor service delivery as the main reasons they came out to cast their ballots in what is expected to be a close race in the Eastern Cape’s second metro.
Babalo Ndenze
Residents of Mzamomhle in KuGompo City come out to vote in the Eastern Cape’s Buffalo City Metro. Picture: Babalo Ndenze/EWN
Babalo Ndenze/EWN
Young voters in Mdantsane in the struggling Buffalo City metro said they were voting for better job opportunities, with some calling for political change.
They listed unemployment and poor service delivery as the main reasons they came out to cast their ballots in what is expected to be a close race in the Eastern Cape’s second metro.
Young and older voters came out in large numbers at a lot of polling stations, forming long queues as they tried to cast their votes early, with a lot of them calling for greater opportunities as they face growing unemployment.
During the 2021 local government elections, more than 4 million voters under the age of 30 were on the voters’ roll.
The number has since increased by more than a million to 5.5 million registered young South Africans.
Political parties have also hedged their bets on the youth vote as they try to grow their numbers.
23-year-old Onwaba from Mzamomhle informal settlement came out to vote for the first time today, dressed in his blue Democratic Alliance T-shirt.
It will be a few days before the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) releases data that will show whether the youth did in fact come out to vote, with results expected at the weekend.