Press release March 28, 2015
Research Shows Young South Africans Skeptical of Politics, Focused on Employment
With the release of a report on South African youths’ political participation, “Youth and Political Participation in South Africa’s Democracy,” Freedom House issued the following statement.
Washington
With the release of a report on South African youths’ political participation, “Youth and Political Participation in South Africa’s Democracy,” Freedom House issued the following statement:
“This focus group study led by political scientist Susan Booysen of the University of the Witwatersrand explains how South Africa’s youths’ preoccupation with overcoming challenging socio-economic conditions influences their experiences with democracy,” said David Lindgren, program officer for Southern Africa. “We found that younger voters frequently use their vote to please politicians believed to hold influence over employment opportunities. Despite perceptions to the contrary, youth are indeed politically interested. Their low level of political participation reflects deep cynicism of the existing political order.”
Freedom House has also launched “Speak Up Mzansi,” an online platform for connecting citizens and their elected leaders. It is available online at www.speakupmzansi.org.za and accessible on Mxit and the Google Play and Windows Stores.
South Africa is rated Free in Freedom in the World 2015, Partly Free in Freedom of the Press 2014 and Free in Freedom on the Net 2014.