- First-time voters flocked to polling stations on Wednesday.
- Voters were lined up at polling stations to mark the national election.
- Many young voters said they spent a lot of time researching who to vote for.
- Find out everything you need to know about the 2024 General Election in News24's elections hub.
A defining feature of Wednesday's election was the number of first-time voters who chatted excitedly, scrolled through their phones and took selfies as they waited in line to mark their polling stations with an X.
Young people told News24 they voted for change and spoke of their responsibility to take part in the country's democracy.
“The act of voting felt empowering and meaningful,” first-time voter Reece Zara Bailey said after casting her ballot at Hanover Park Civic Centre in Cape Town.
“As a voter in my first national election, the experience of voting was both exhilarating and thought-provoking. As citizens, I was eager to exercise my right and responsibility to have a say in the future direction of our country and my expectations were clear leading up to Election Day,” she said.
Bailey said she was impressed with the sense of community at the polling place.
“Despite the long lines, the camaraderie and shared excitement among fellow voters made the wait bearable,” she said.
“I knew my voice, combined with the voices of millions of others, would determine the course of this country.”
Mr Bailey said some of the issues that helped him decide who to vote for included power outages and “shockingly high youth unemployment”.
I look forward to seeing the changes that will occur over the next few years and am committed to staying engaged and informed so that I can continue to play a meaningful role in shaping the course of our country.
Nontsikelelo Mielo, a 19-year-old student at the University of the Western Cape, said she was excited to have a say in who would lead South Africa.
Miero hopes that this will lead to more employment opportunities, less crime and a better South Africa.
She said she wanted to see free education and better services for people in forgotten villages like her hometown Ngcobo in the Eastern Cape.
First-time voter Nina Dawley said she voted for the person she thought would best tackle corruption and electricity rationing.
“Each party has its strengths and weaknesses, you really have to look into it,” said Dawley, who voted in Rondebosch, Cape Town.
Nina Dowlais. (Nicole McCain/News24)
News 24 Nicole McCain
For Rodwill Alexander from Heideveld, waiting in long queues was not an issue.
“It was such an amazing feeling to be standing there knowing I was standing there for such a great cause. I literally hold the future in my hands and I believe my vote will make a difference. We have to be positive,” Alexander said.
He said he was “very pleased” to be able to contribute to making the country a better place.
“I feel like I've had some positive impact and in the long term I hope we'll see lower youth unemployment, less poverty and fewer gang-infested areas because crime is disproportionately high in Cape Town,” Alexander said.
Rodwill Alexander.
Offering
Standing in the shade outside the polling station at Full Gospel Church in Parklands, Cape Town, Luke Levenburg, 23, marveled at this major milestone in his life: voting.
“It was very emotional for me,” the youth activist told News24.
“I believe that by creating X, my voice was heard today.”
For Levenberg, the long list of candidates wasn't confusing.
“I did my homework.”
Luke Levenberg and Ricardo Scheepers (Jenny Evans, News24)
News 24 Jenny Evans
The polling stations were bustling with colorful party tents lined the sidewalks, and volunteers took turns directing traffic on the narrow suburban streets.
“We are multitasking here,” said an ANC volunteer who took over the job from a DA volunteer.
Neo Karane seemed pleased with the prospect of being able to vote.
“Happiness is the word that I can't describe,” he said.
The importance of voting was understood by students in Johannesburg, who waited six hours to cast their vote.
In lines nearly as long as those for the 1994 vote, students sat, huddled, talked and studied their way to the front.
When News24 visited the main campus on Wednesday afternoon, it took nine minutes to walk from the end of the car park queue, up the steps into the Matrix complex, through the trees, across the Great Hall, down beside the library, parallel to the large pond and then down more steps into the Old Mutual Sports Hall, where voting was taking place.
Read | Long walk to freedom: Citizens queue for hours despite hot sun and arguments
Polling officials told News24 that a major hurdle was that the Voter Management Device (VMD), an electronic voter data machine that the IEC hailed as a “game-changing change in voter registration”, kept going offline.
Officials said every time the station went offline they had to rely on a 200-page voter list that, for some reason, wasn't in alphabetical order.
The mood in the line varied depending on where you stood: at the back of the parking lot, students hid their faces in the sun; newcomers, realizing the length of the line for the first time, groaned “Haibo” and “Hey guys.” In the matrix beneath the trees, students laughed, ate, and studied.
ANC and EFF gazebos had been set up side-by-side next to the library, where members of both parties were making their final recruitment drives, but most students seemed more interested in setting up makeshift sweet stalls in the shade of the political tents.
Lwazi Cele, 19, told News24 she plans to vote for the EFF.
“I’m going to vote for the EFF because the ANC is not looking after us… so if I vote for the EFF [create] It will bring about change and prosperity for all South Africans.”
Ramasela Mokoena spoke passionately about voting.
“This is literally the first time I've had an impact. Some people will say, 'That doesn't matter,' but we're at a point in this country where we need change. We need something different.”
She said voting is so important to students because they struggle to pay for their education. “Half of us can't afford to be here. We're literally standing in line for colleges that will kick us out of here the minute we can't pay the tuition. We're not here because 'the school is good,' we're here because we want to help our families. So if this… means I have to stand in this really long line, then I will,” she said.
Mokoena added that people cannot expect change unless they are willing to vote.
I ask myself: What if that one vote makes a difference? We have been through power outages. Do you know how hard it is to sit an exam during a power outage? As a first-time voter, I have that responsibility. As a South African, I have that responsibility towards this country.
She said 2024 is just as important as 1994, and the thousands of people waiting in line are there because they want change.
Rona Sokanile said voting was humiliating.
“It's an honour to know that as a South African citizen I can exercise my democratic right. I'm really looking forward to the turnout in the upcoming elections and, as a responsible citizen, I know that it's one of the things I can do if I want to see change,” she said.
Meanwhile in Durban, first-time voters waited in scorching heat to cast their ballot.
Zimhlophe Zuma, an unemployed graduate, said he was excited to be voting for the first time but also nervous.
The 26-year-old said she did not vote in the last general election because she did not understand the importance of her vote.
She said she now believes so.
“I now know my rights and I understand their importance. There are many changes I want to see but the most important are free education and an end to blackouts. I graduated but I don't have a qualification because I didn't pay university fees. I also run a small business and it has been struggling for years because of the blackouts,” Zuma said.
Olwethu Sokulu. (Sakiseni Nxumalo/News24)
News24 Saxeni Nkumalo
Another first-time voter, Olwetu Sokulu, 22, who waited more than four hours in Glenwood, Durban, said her vote was part of her call for reform of unemployment, free education, crime and other social ills.
“I was not going to miss this opportunity to vote. I believe every vote counts and everyone should be heard. By casting this vote, I feel I matter because my voice is being heard. I am only voting for change and for a party that will answer our prayers,” Sokul said.
