Multiparty charter urges young people to register to vote for change

The multiparty charter has held voter registration campaign events to encourage voter registration, its first event involving all signatories to the charter.

The parties — the DA, FF Plus, IFP, ActionSA, ACDP, Isanco, UIM, UCDP, Ekhetu and UNP — convened at the Johannesburg city hall on Thursday with one particular objective — to persuade young people to register to vote and convince them to put their faith behind one of the parties in the charter.

ActionSA spokesperson Lerato Ngobeni said it was crucial for young people to register to secure a better future for themselves.

Ngobeni said: “Young people have the most to gain but also the most to lose in 2024. Only if they are registered can they use the power of their vote to choose a better future for themselves — a future based on the multiparty charter’s vision of a new government to build a just, inclusive and prosperous South Africa based on opportunity, freedom and security for all its citizens.”

DA leader John Steenhuisen said the country was presented with a real opportunity to build a South Africa outside the ANC, which “has failed its citizens”.

“The 2024 election is the one time that power lies in the hands of the people rather than in the hands of politicians. [This year] is the one time that ordinary South Africans can bring the change they want to see — peacefully at the ballot box. But they can only bring that change if they are registered to vote. The future is literally in your hands. This is an opportunity to bring in a new government that can get South Africa moving forward again,” said Steenhuisen.

“For the first time since 1994, there is a realistic, credible pathway to power for an alternative government to replace the ANC — a government made up of parties that are all committed to building a capable, caring, accountable state. This is the first election in which ANC support will fall well below 50%. The ANC is literally falling apart. They are in retreat and on the defensive. At the same time, the multiparty charter is growing, uniting more parties and people.”

The multiparty charter promises a coalition based on principles including:

• the rule of law and equality before the law;
• the decentralisation of power to the lowest effective level of government;
• accountable, transparent government with zero tolerance for corruption; and
• a capable government that spends public money efficiently to deliver quality services to all.

The political parties in the charter say they will be a caring government that puts people first and prioritises the poor. They collectively believe in an open market economy and policies that produce positive results for society. They will prioritise redress for the country's unjust past by promoting nonracialism and unity.

The FF Plus's Pieter Groenewald criticised the ruling party for the country's decline, citing unemployment, crime, poverty, suffering and the cost of living as reasons for unseating the ruling ANC.

The Electoral Commission of South African (IEC) reported on Wednesday that the national voters’ roll has, for the first time, surpassed the 27-million mark. The 2019 roll had 26.7-million names. 

The next and final registration weekend will take place on February 3 and 4.

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