The Activists and Citizens Forum led by former COPE spokesperson, Dennis Bloem has urged South Africans to take advantage of this weekend’s voter registration to change their lives for the better and register to vote in the upcoming general elections.
This comes after the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), Sy Mamabolo, on Wednesday announced that the national voters roll has, for the first time, surpassed the 27 million mark.
“The commission is happy to report the achievement of two historic milestones,” he said, adding that the other was having 26.7 million voters registered for the 2019 polls,“ Mamabolo said.
Mamabolo used the briefing to outline the commission’s plans for the upcoming voter registration weekend during a media briefing in Centurion saying the IEC will host its second national voter registration weekend on Saturday and Sunday.
The first round of voter registration weekend was held on November 18 and 19.
Bloem said South Africans must realise that their future is in their own hands and nothing less than a decisive show at the polls will be enough to change their lives for the better.
“The people of the country must realise that by boycotting the general and provincial elections they are not assisting the country to get rid of a corrupt Government, getting rid of criminals who are masquerading as cabinet ministers and members of parliament; criminals who steal the money of NSFAS.
“A government run by criminal suspects who are fingered in the Zondo Commission Report. A government that has created more informal settlements (squatter camps) and creating a country with the highest unemployment numbers in the world and turned the country into a welfare state,” Bloem said.
Bloem urged the youth to not sit idle while the country burns saying if they do not take the matter into their own hands, criminals will continue looting state coffers.
“It is really in the hands of the people and especially the youth, to save our country from further sliding down the deep dark hole. Your vote can stop the destruction in the municipalities taking place all over the country. The rampant corruption that has destroyed almost all municipalities can be stopped by the voter.
“It is a well-known fact that many people are angry and disillusioned about the lack of service delivery because of corruption and the empty promises that were made over the past 30 years by the present government,” he said.