Young voters in South Africa, and especially first-time voters, have a big decision to make as they approach the ballot box in May.

The latest Ipsos poll focused on the opinions of South Africans 15 years and older, and young voters, aged 18-24, to determine how the youth are thinking about SA politics.

If you’re over the age of 24, take a moment to mourn the fact that you’re no longer a “youth”.

Done? Good.

Here’s BusinessTech with some of Ipsos’ methodology:

The study was conducted from 23rd October 2018 to the 4th December 2018, drawing a response from a total of 3,571 South Africans, 15 years and older, who were interviewed face-to-face in their homes and home languages.

Interviews were conducted all over the country, from metropolitan areas to deep rural areas to ensure representative results, Ipsos said.

According to Ipsos, only 61% of young people are registered to vote. The IEC has been on a big push to get this specific age group to take part in elections, which will be the first opportunity for many to have a direct impact on the administration of the country and their very future.

Young people make up only 17% of registered voters across the country, which is problematic if you consider that they make up a much larger portion of the total population.

Another rising trend suggests that more and more young people are refusing to vote in elections. Cape Talk reports that it has nothing to do with apathy – rather young voters are using their lack of a vote to protest a political climate where they feel that they aren’t being heard.

Columnist Gugu Nonjinge says many young people refuse to register or vote because their voices are systematically marginalised and silenced in politics.

Instead, youth are using abstention to send a loud message that they are dissatisfied with the current status quo.

“It’s some form of activism that we as young people are trying to put forward. The silence of not voting means something. It should be loud.”

Over a third (35%) of young voters agreed that there wasn’t a single political party in South Africa that represented their needs and views.

That said, many did know who they would be voting for.

The ANC had the most support among those polled, getting 62% of the vote.

This was followed by the EFF with 14%, and the DA with 11%. The IFP got 3% and all other partied combined got 1%, Ipsos said.

In a similar poll ahead of the 2016 elections, the ANC scored 47% of the vote, with the EFF and DA following at 12% and 11%, respectively.

Here’s a handy graph with a breakdown, including the percentage voting for “other parties” not worth mentioning:

Further polling by Ipsos showed that trust in opposition parties was very low, with the DA scoring a scary -34%.

I would say that Ipsos’ findings are scary on the whole.

Whatever happens, it’s going to be an interesting election year.

[sources:businesstech&capetalk]