‘Parties are failing to capture young hearts and minds’

“Young people do not have close political ties to parties and none of them has so far been able to capture them,” says political analyst, Dr Collette Schulz-Herzenberg, amid the quest to get more young people to participate in the upcoming elections.

Dr. Schulz-Herzenberg believes that the country has failed to mobilise the youth and entice them to vote.

She says political parties are struggling to reach the young people where they are located in society.

“The older generations had strong political party identifications that motivated individuals to vote. However, this is not the case with young people because they are independent thinkers and are not pulled in any particular direction,” she adds.

The political analyst says the youth looks beyond the political scene and not having leaders who are able to challenge them and draw their interest demotivates them from voting.

“There are two strong reasons. We aren’t mobilising the young South Africans, but they are also not in a stage in their life where politics has direct impact.”

She says as young people grow older; they will develop a keen interest in politics as they move into social networks where politics will be spoken about more often.

Another political expert, Professor Dirk Kotzé, says for young people to see meaningful change in their communities – they must head to the ballot box, and articulate what they want.

He made the remarks ahead of UNISA’s town hall debate today, where representatives from political parties are set to square off in the build-up to the May 29 elections.

Issues such as load shedding, high youth unemployment, and the likelihood of coalitions at a national level – are just some of the topics up for discussion.

Speaking to YNews, Kotze agrees with Dr. Schulz-Herzenberg that political parties are not doing enough to amplify the voices of young people.

However, he says, the youth also need to show interest in the political affairs of their society and use opportunities that exist to ensure change. Written by Lamile Miya