An old issue in respect of political elections has reared its head once more this year –young people just don’t want to vote. When you talk to enough people, especially those fervently involved with their local political party, you quickly get the sense that few young people want to make their way to the polls.
A general sense of disillusionment fills the air, and many young people say they see no point in voting.
Jarrod Delport decided that something had to be done about this, saying, “Of the four hundred members in parliament right now, I think only about 5 per cent (it’s ridiculous) are under the age of 30”.
Jarrod currently acts as an adviser to the Congress of the People (COPE) and is in the running for a seat in the National Assembly and the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. Since he started out, he has felt that a far larger youth involvement would be needed to represent nearly half of the population of South Africa.
“I think they’re apathetic. They don’t go to the polls and they don’t vote in by-elections. I think that comes from a lack of education about politics and not knowing how our elections are won, who’s running in them, and how many votes per seat are needed.”
Jarrod believes that, in the coming five years, more than just a few new laws will come into effect that will directly affect young people’s daily lives. Some might be beneficial, but others might make things worse. His point is that if young people do not become more involved and vote for their representatives, they will have no say in the laws that will directly impact their livelihoods.
“It was in 2017, during one of the motions of no confidence against Jacob Zuma, that I realised that there is no sense in being on the political sidelines. If you want to change something, you need to be involved in the political discourse itself,” he said.
Jarrod has had a passion for not just politics, but for South Africa itself since he was very young, and has been influenced by his parents and family.
“It was at a stage of my life where democracy was maturing, and I found myself maturing with it.”
He noticed that, while he was still attending Krugersdorp High School, many of his friends started listening intently when he spoke about what was going on in our country, engaging and asking questions. It was then that something clicked, and he knew he had to do something about the youth representation problem.
His biggest tool has been social media. He has become highly active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. His objective is to keep up his current level of social media use when he has reached his goal of filling a seat in the National Assembly and the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. In his view, many politicians become disconnected from the average voter once they have been elected to higher office.
Jarrod is also currently working on draft legislation for “the inclusion of independent candidates to run for parliament and provincial legislatures, and the direct election of mayors, premiers and the presidency”.
He wanted to make it clear that he really didn’t care who the youth will be voting for in the coming election, but stressed the importance of just taking part and voting to help shape the future of this country.
“Get out there and vote. Take part in the election. So many sacrificed so much for you to vote. It’s more than just putting your X on a party name or a party logo. It’s about taking part in something bigger than you.”
