Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has called on the South African government and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to ensure that every citizen who turns 18 is automatically registered as a voter.
Malema said this as he was addressing party supporters at the EFF’s plenum in Boksburg on Sunday, adding that automatic voter registration would make it easier for young South Africans to participate in elections.
“We said in Parliament we want every child who becomes 18 to be automatically registered as a law in South Africa because it is your civil duty as a citizen to vote and to vote for a party of your choice,” Malema said.
“So we cannot just be citizens, and we don’t play our role as citizens, and that role is to be a registered voter. So it’s important that, inasmuch as we demand service from government, we too as citizens must play our role, and that role is to register and vote for a party of your choice”.
Despite representing a large share of the population, young South Africans are underrepresented on the voters’ roll. The Independent Electoral Commission has, in the past, highlighted that many eligible young citizens are not yet registered to vote.
Malema further said that the IEC must support this initiative and provide updated voters’ rolls.
“They must print a voters’ roll and give it to each and every VD. They are the ones who created the VDs. So they must print the voters’ roll of each and every one so that we can go to those people who are already on the voters’ roll to confirm that indeed these people are here, they are citizens in this particular ward,” he added.
mthobisi.nozulela@iol.co.za
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