Reflections on the 2024 general election: The youth’s perspectives.

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BACKGROUND

The 2024 national and provincial election will go down in history as one which set South Africa on a new pedestal. A lot of things happened before, during, and after this election. Among these developments were the various court cases which delayed the IEC in printing the three ballot papers that were used for the very first time. Secondly, the number of political parties which contested the election was very high. Moreover, independent candidates were allowed to participate in this election – something unprecedented.

Another important development was the formation of the Mkhonto Wesizwe Party (MKP) which was led by Former President Jacob Zuma. When this happened, some dismissed it as an insignificant factor. Others, however, correctly predicted that unlike other new political parties, the MKP was going to be a force to be reckoned with and that its emergence would negatively affect other political parties, not just the ANC. As the results have shown, those who held this view have been vindicated.

Unlike in previous elections where the youth showed less interest in the election either by not registering to vote or by registering but not voting on voting day, things were different this time. The youth registered in their numbers and remained patient in the queues as they waited to cast their vote. This general interest gave pointers that some of the older parties stood to lose in this election. Indeed, this is what happened.

The results of this election took many by surprise. For the very first time, the ANC was unable to reach the required fifty plus one threshold. It only managed 40.2 percent. In KwaZulu-Natal, the ANC lost to the newly formed MKP and the IFP. Even in the provinces where the ANC won, it did so with a reduced majority.

Given the many challenges which this election had to contend with, twenty-six political parties used the Section 55 form to register their concerns. However, the IEC took a decision to announce the results on Sunday 2 June 2024. This marked the official start of coalition talks. What are the views of the youth on this election?

This event aims to:

1. To establish what distinguished this election from previous ones.
2. To assess the impact of smaller parties in the 2024 general election.
3. To reflect on the performance of the IEC in this election, and
4. To provide the youth the platform to deliberate and reflect on the 2024 election.

Speakers to be confirmed.