Democracy, freedom and liberation. These are some of the words that describe what the month April means to South Africans.
The country celebrates Freedom Day annually on the 27th of April because on this day in 1994, citizens who are above the age of 18, including foreign nationals with permanent citizenship, were allowed to vote for the first time. It is also a day that honours those who played a critical role in making this the democratic country that it is today.
To mark its importance, Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, together with IEC South Africa CEO, Sy Mamabolo and the Gauteng Education and Youth Development MEC, Matome Chiloane, launched Freedom Month at Alexandra High School on the 17 April 2024.
Speaking at the event, Motshekga said it is extremely important for both learners and adults to understand that voting is not only a right but a responsibility that should be practiced for one’s own benefit. She found it informative as she was not aware of some of the new rules and opportunities offered to the citizens.
“The younger ones also need to educate whoever is at home, so that they can enlighten them about the procedures and what is going to unfold and also that there are three ballots for the first time and that the rules have changed,” Motshekga said.
According to the CEO of the IEC, Sy Mamabolo, approximately 27.7 million citizens have registered to vote and the number of young people registered this year has significantly improved compared to the past years. He said this year, about 27% of the youth aged 18-19 years old has improved when previously only 5% had registered. That is an improvement of over 20%.
“We are beginning to see improvement in the youth registering to vote since the collaboration with the Department of Basic Education. We would like to thank the youth that have registered,” Mamabolo said.
He added that special voting applies to everyone who might have challenges traveling to their nearest voting station and that there are two special voting categories: One for the elderly, pregnant or sick and the other one for those who will not be able to vote at their local voting stations. He urged the learners to share this important information with those around them. Special voting registrations can be done both online or the nearest voting station.
Chiloane reminded the learners of the importance of casting a vote. He highlighted the importance of practicing their rights and said that it affords them an opportunity to elect a leader of their choice and the right to hold them accountable for their decisions.
“If young people do not vote, they automatically lose the privilege of having the leaders they want. You need to understand that your vote is a way of defending the hard-earned democracy that we have in our country. It’s been 30 years, 30 long years and we have many achievements we can talk to and we can also speak to the challenges,” Chiloane said.
Mamabolo said special voting registrations are now open and will close on 3 May 2024.