JOHANNESBURG - Concerns are growing over the declining voter turnout, especially among young people.
This comes ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections (LGE).
Frustration over unemployment, poor service delivery, corruption, and failing municipalities continues to fuel the lack of participation.
Researcher at Rivonia Circle, Naledi Ngqambela, said many young people feel disconnected from politics and unheard by political leaders.
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She said voters are more likely to participate when parties speak directly to issues affecting their daily lives.
"What is important to understand is that politics is personal. Young people need to have that idea that this is a political party that's speaking to my issues," she said.
Ngqambela added that many young people are choosing to tackle socio-economic issues within their communities instead of relying on political structures.
"We've also noticed how young people are really able to work in their communities and just let aside politics and what government cannot do for them. And focus particularly on solving their issues in their own communities.
Nqgambela also highlighted organisational and systematic barriers that contribute to the low voter turnout among young people.
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She pointed to the 2019 General Elections when young South Africans took to Twitter under the hashtag #IWantToVoteBut, airing out reasons why they could not celebrate or participate in the elections for various reasons.
"One of the reasons that has stuck with me to this day is the fact that young people mentioned that they can't vote because they have difficulty accessing voting stations.
"There was also an inconvenience of voting on a working day because, some sectors or some organizations unfortunately did not give them that space to be able to vote on a working day," Ngqambela said.
This, she said, cannot be ignored.
On Wednesday, the Electoral Commission launched the 2026 Local Government Elections.
The launch set the pace for political parties and voters to begin preparations for the polls.
At the same time, the Commission was able to roll out a national campaign across multiple platforms, including television, radio, digital, and social media, to ensure broad reach and accessibility.
READ | IEC kicks off election campaign
The Commission said it unveiled the elections logo and media campaign under the tagline, “Get Up, Show Up, Vote", aimed at motivating all eligible voters as well as young people to participate in the electoral process.
IEC has strengthened its online registration with the hope of motivating young people to register.