Cape Town — As South Africa prepares for a potentially tumultuous year with elections on the rise, it could be a year that changes the landscape of South African governance going forward.
New dates were announced for registration, with South African abroad able to register at high commissions, embassies and consulates on 26, 27 and 28 January 2024, while the final dates for voter registrations in South Africa will take place on 3 and 4 February 2024, SA Gov News reported.
Voters will be spoilt for choice at the polls this year for both the national and provincial elections, with over 350 parties currently registered with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Although not all of them will participate in the polls, there has been at least 27 new parties registered in the last quarter of 2023, EWN reported.
🇿🇦#SAelections24 countdown! Eligible South Africans, join the Voter Registration Weekend on Feb 3-4. Register in-person at a nearby station (8AM-5PM) or online at https://t.co/QFgJgjwl82. Your democracy, own it! Don’t forget your ID. #RegisterToVote pic.twitter.com/HpJFkEJ7Cl
— IEC South Africa (@IECSouthAfrica) January 16, 2024
Some parties have former political leaders at the helm of their party, including the new MK party, led by Jacob Zuma and Ace Magashule, hoping to pull voters away from bigger parties.
According to University of Pretoria political studies lecturer, Heather Thuynsma, new parties does not mean that voters are ready to take the leap.
“Although voters are clearly disillusioned with the political system, their response has been to withdraw from the process entirely, and you can see this in the declining turnout in recent elections. The new party trend, I think, is more about individual politicians than voters.”
Thuynsma added that in a constrained economy, the financial future of newcomer parties could also be in jeopardy.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
