Durban - In spite of attempts to get the born frees involved and making an impact in this year’s elections, less than 660 000 of the democracy babies have registered to vote.
More than 1.9 million youngsters born after 1994 are eligible to vote, but only a third will do so on May 7.
Their impact could be even further reduced depending on how many spoil their ballot, as some campaigners are calling for.
According to Independent Electoral Commission figures, the number of 18 to 19 year olds registered this year (656 376) is less than for the 2009 election (669 421).
The IEC had tried to capture the hearts and minds of young voters with the I Love SA broadcast, print and billboard campaign, which featured prominent artists, celebrities and sports stars.
Political parties intensified their presence on social media over the past year, becoming more active and provocative online, recorded songs and introduced fashionable clothing to their party offerings – but that too has not worked.
Opposition parties believe the born frees’ vote would help bridge the chasm between them and the ANC, but they seem to have failed to capture the hearts and minds of the 1.2 million born frees who have not registered to vote.
The silent death of the ANC Youth League in the past two years has not done the ruling party any favours either, as they go to elections for the first time with the league in tatters.
The league has made attempts in some provinces to restore some pride.
In the eThekwini region, for instance, it held a fashion show at a nightclub this past weekend, which was attended by hundreds of prospective voters.
But whether this will help them entice new voters to the polls is moot as the voters roll is closed.
The Daily News spoke to some born frees to gauge their thoughts on our political climate, and to find out if they were taking part in the elections – their first opportunity to make their mark.
Yazini Nofemele, 18, a first- year history and psychology student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, will not be voting this year because he was too “lazy” to walk to the new voting station, after he tried to register at the old voting station.
His ward in Newlands, where he lives, had been rezoned, and the voting station had to change as a result.
Nofemele has since had a change of heart and regrets not registering. He was now in the process of joining one of the youth formations of the political parties.
Another first time voter, Snethemba Mlondo, an interior design student at the Durban University of Technology, was pessimistic about the future and felt her vote would make little difference.
“My vote won’t have an impact. I don’t feel like there is a (political) party that I can relate to; people in power do not have a sense of oneness with the people.
“I would like to see them use state resources (such as hospitals) as well, so they can feel what the normal person goes through. Until then, I won’t vote,” said the Clermont resident.
But there is some hope, and as reflected by the voters roll, at least one in three born-frees have registered to vote.
Salisha Govender, 19, a corporate communications student at Varsity College Durban North, is among the born frees who is eager to cast her vote to “change the state of the country”.
“I think things are bad right now and I believe voting will allow me to change things.
“Indifference will not help anyone,” she said.
Govender is one of many who were not particularly impressed with the rife corruption and lack of services that the country is experiencing.
“It’s time to be effective and get it right,” she said.
Another non-voter, Keri Khoza, 19, whose mother works for the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Human Settlements, said she had been busy during the registration weekends.
Khoza, who is a business administration student at UKZN, said she would register if another opportunity came about, and said the IEC needed to do more to attract the youth.
“Nobody tells us these things, there’s not a lot of information and (marketing) activations from the IEC.
“The parties try, but there’s not enough information about the detail and the final registration dates,” she said.
Khoza was disgruntled by what politics in South Africa which she felt was largely driven by narrow race concerns. She said most people wanted to vote, but did not really know who to vote for.
Tina Cele, 19, an auditing student at DUT, has registered to vote, but was not happy with any of the political parties and would not be voting.
“Why should I vote for any of them?
“This problems-driven politics and not giving solutions does not work for me.
“We want to see action, and not just talk and talk. I would like to see people act first,” she said.
Cele said she had planned to vote for the ANC, but was now taken aback by the leadership, and said she would not vote for the DA either because it was too quick to point a finger and offered no solutions.
She said the IFP and the NFP would not be getting her vote because of the ongoing political violence which led to fatalities between the two factions.
Julius Malema’s EFF was seen as a hypocritical party and was not considered by Cele, who added that politicians should address the drug scourge and corruption in government as a matter of urgency.
Simphiwe Mlambo, 19, an interior design student at DUT, said he was not interested in the elections because “politicians lack credibility”.
“Voting would imply that we are putting people that cannot run the country back into power, and I don’t know who to vote for,” he said.
He felt that politicians spoke “past him” and not in simple, understandable jargon.
“They use big words and make big promises but cannot deliver basic things,” Mlambo said.
The Mtubatuba resident said he would like to see problems in education addressed.
“If education is addressed and the youth had access to it, the country would be in a better state,” he said.