Registering to vote is the least anyone can do
With the national polls behind us we should all do what we can to ensure the local government elections are truly representative of the wishes of the city.
Covering the elections last week made me proud of my country, a sentiment that is felt with ever-dwindling frequency of late.
I was proud of how well, generally, the IEC managed the polls, but also of ordinary citizens who took the time to vote.
It was a display of active citizenry that is always heartening, especially for those who need to make an extraordinary effort. I witnessed the elderly, the infirm, and the disabled who were determined to make their mark.
Voting is an act that we are called on to perform only twice in a five-year cycle. Once for the national and provincial elections which we’ve just had, and once for local government polls.
It is objectively not a big ‘ask’ yet is something many choose not to participate in.
Read more: VOX POP: Community speaks out on concerns regarding elections
I find this difficult to process…
Our democracy so badly needs to be representative of all who live in our beautiful country, yet the figures of people opting out of this responsibility are more than disheartening, they are devastating.
I have spoken to several people, some that I know well, who did not vote, by choice. Many are not even registered to vote.
When questioned, the responses varied from, ‘My vote won’t make a difference’ to ‘I don’t care enough to vote’.
Probing a bit more, it seems that unhappiness with the status quo has all but killed the desire to engage in a political space. The problem is though, withholding your vote makes it easier for the lay of the land one is so frustrated with to remain as it is.
Also read: Proof of an address is not a requirement to register as a voter – IEC
The change they desire can only be realised through voting.
Does your vote guarantee that change, of course not, but without it, you are at the mercy of the wishes of millions of strangers who now effectively vote on your behalf.
In the 2019 elections, voter turnout was 66% of registered voters.
That number this year looks, at the time of going to print, to be similar if not a little higher. This again means millions of registered voters did not heed the call.
Add onto that deficit the estimated 13 million eligible voters who did not bother to register to give themselves the option if they woke up on the day and wanted to.
It is millions and millions of people who don’t think their vote will make a difference.
One in three South Africans are unemployed and in the youth category that number skyrockets to 45%. Crime is rife, load-shedding and water disruptions give calamitous blows to the stalling economy and social cohesion is struggling.
Voter apathy is not unique to South Africa but as the most unequal country on earth, it is damaging and heartbreaking when our democratic vote was so hard fought for.
These polls are done, but the local government ones are now looming.
If you didn’t vote last week or are not registered to vote, please consider changing that for the local government elections.
They will impact us here in Jozi more personally as they determine who will run this incredible but faltering city in which we all live.
Please, please, AT LEAST register to vote.
Related article: VOX POP: Why did I vote?
