[imagesources:canva&yohvote.com]

Inspired by popular dating apps like Tinder and Bumble, a newly-launched app called Yoh Vote allows users to “date” political parties by answering a set of questions designed to reveal their political preferences.

Instead of matching up those who are ‘single to mingle’, the platform hopes to help young South Africans find political parties that align with their values and beliefs.

Each party’s profile on Yoh Vote features information sourced from their latest manifestos and websites, but in true ‘dating bio’ style.

For example, the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) profile exclaims, “My ideology is all about liberalism. I’m all for freedom, baby!” while the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) proudly declare, “Our slogan? ‘Our land and jobs, now!'”

Users can choose to “take things further” with a political party, which redirects them to the official website of that party for more information.

The creators of the unorthodox yet alluring app are on a mission to make politics engaging and accessible to young people by recognising that traditional political content, laden with jargon and lengthy manifestos, can be daunting and down-right confusing for many South African citizens.

According to Ryan Young, one of the co-founders, “Reading different political parties’ manifestos is no one’s idea of a good time.” We’ll have to agree with you there, Ryan.

With this in mind, the team behind Yoh Vote decided to present political information in the dating app format to make the learning process more enjoyable. With many young South Africans already familiar with concepts like ‘swiping right’ and ‘matching’, it’s a creative approach to the issue of voters not being able to make well-informed decisions on voting day.

A study conducted in 2020 found that only 30% of eligible individuals aged 20 to 29 voted in South Africa’s 2019 elections. Yoh Vote aims to bridge this gap by providing young people with an interactive way to explore their political leanings.

The platform is non-partisan, meaning it doesn’t endorse any specific party and, don’t worry, the quiz results won’t actually tell you who to vote for. Instead, Yoh Vote encourages individuals to reflect on their own beliefs and understand where they stand on various political issues via a series of dating-app-inspired questions.

The creators of the app are well-positioned to explore young South Africans’ interactions with politics; all are under the age of 25 and share a passion for making a positive impact on our country’s political future.

The Yoh Vote website was launched in mid-August, and has since drawn significant interest, challenging the stereotype that young people are disengaged from politics.

Currently only five South African parties are using Yoh Vote to interact with the public, including the DA, ANC and EFF, but the creators have ambitious plans to add more parties, incorporate additional South African languages and continuously update the information featured to stay current with new manifestos and changes in parties’ policy attitudes.

It’s a swipe right for democracy from us!

[source:news24]