South Africa is betting on WhatsApp to bring Gen Z back to the ballot box
The strategy appears to be gaining traction. Nearly half a million voter registration transactions during the IEC's final registration drive came from people aged 16 to 29, while 46% of all new registrations were by voters under 29. The figures suggest digital platforms may be lowering barriers to registration. The bigger question, however, is whether making registration easier can also overcome…
South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has embraced WhatsApp, the country’s most popular messaging app, to encourage Gen Z to register to vote. The service, launched on Tuesday ahead of the voter registration deadline for upcoming local elections, aims to attract young people to the democratic process by making registration more convenient.
The strategy seems to be paying off, with nearly half a million voter registration transactions coming from people aged 16 to 29, accounting for 46% of all new registrations. The IEC’s Chief Electoral Officer, Sy Mamabolo, explained that leveraging a platform already widely used by South Africans would expand access to voter registration and improve convenience.
The new WhatsApp registration service uses OTP authentication, ID document uploads, address verification, and voting station confirmation. While the IEC’s digital initiatives are boosting engagement, the real challenge lies in translating increased registrations into higher voter turnout, which may hinge on political parties convincing young people that voting is worthwhile.
Written by urgent.news from TechCabal's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
