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FILE PHOTO | CoGTA Chairperson, Zweli Mkhize engages committee members.
The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Zweli Mkhize, says South Africa’s declining voter interest is being driven by the lived realities of ordinary citizens.
He told MPs that frustrations over poor service delivery, unemployment and the rising cost of living are increasingly shaping whether people choose to vote.
Mkhize was speaking during a joint committee of COGTA and the Home Affairs Committee.
The committees were receiving a briefing from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on country’s readiness for the 2026 Local Government Elections.
Mkhize’s comment follows a warning from the IEC that voter participation continues to decline.
“Voters who are not interested in voting, these might be based on a lot of issues and I’m sure you have some research that would confirm all of this, particularly attitude towards the issues of service delivery, attitude towards the effectiveness in management of economic issues. The question of cost of living, unemployment, issues of corruption, crime drugs basically the personal circumstances, if people feel their circumstances have improved.”
VIDEO | IEC briefs media on state of readiness for 2026 Local Government Elections:
-Report by Mkhokheli Bandla
