Youth urged to register to vote

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Pretoria - The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) has urged the youth to register to vote this weekend.

“Young South Africans are the bedrock of our democracy, as they constitute the largest segment of our population. It is therefore important that we pull together as one and encourage the youth of South Africa to register and vote,” NYDA Chairperson Yershen Pillay said on Thursday.

The agency had noted reports indicating that millions of young people are not registered to vote in the upcoming 2014 general elections.

Saturday, 9 November and Sunday, 10 November have been set aside by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) as registration weekend.

The IEC has set a target of getting two million new registrations by the time the voters’ roll closes before next year’s general elections.

The NYDA encouraged the youth to register and vote.

“We are confident that most, if not all youth, will make time to register and take advantage of their democratic right to vote. The power is in youth hands for this election!" said Pillay.

Cabinet earlier on Thursday encouraged South Africans, especially first time voters, to go out and register to be able to vote.

All plans are in place for this weekend’s voter registration and the IEC is confident that all will go smoothly in all the 22 263 registration stations.

Registration will be between 8am and 5pm on Saturday and Sunday, where a total of 45 795 election officials will be standing by to verify the process. - SAnews.gov.za