Dlamini-Zuma woos young voters

ANC presidential hopeful Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has called on the party's young supporters to register in large numbers to be eligible to vote in the 2019 general elections to ensure the party remains in government.

Speaking at an ANC Youth League event to mark the 73rd anniversary of the party's youth wing in Nyanga on the Cape Flats on Sunday‚ Dlamini-Zuma said any party risked losing elections if its supporters did not have their names on the voters' roll.

Dlamini-Zuma also called on members of the ANCYL to wage a fight against the "negative narrative" about the governing party.

"It's your responsibility to make sure that you do vote‚ that you do register because you can lose an election before it takes place if your supporters are not registered‚" she said.

"I am confident that young people will help us win the elections in 2019."

Dlamini-Zuma spent the weekend in the various regions of the Western Cape drumming up support for her campaign to replace President Jacob Zuma at the ANC's national conference due to take place in December this year.

She addressed ANC supporters just two days after it emerged that she is due be sworn in as an MP during the course of this week‚ but she steered clear of this issue in her speech.

The former minister of health‚ home affairs and foreign affairs‚ who has also served as the chairperson of the African Union‚ also called on young people of the ANC to tackle the factionalism that has plagued the party.

"You are going to fight for the integrity of the movement‚ you are going to fight against factions and you are going to fight against anything that undermines the organisation‚" she said.

"But you must also fight against the negative narrative about our organisation and about our country. You must be out there in the battle of ideas."

Tackling social ills‚ Dlamini-Zuma said the ANCYL's call on young people to lead productive lives‚ was not about them "producing babies".

"There is time for producing babies‚ what is in the programme is that you must produce skilled people."

She said she supported calls for government to provide free tertiary education to poor students.

Dlamini-Zuma said the ANC's upcoming elective conference should not divide the party and that whoever emerged victorious should "embrace" the losing side.