Mashatile votes in Sandton, then tells young South Africans: use the ballot or lose your say

Deputy President Paul Mashatile cast his vote at St Johannes Lutheran Church in Sandton on Wednesday, accompanied by his wife, Humile Mashatile, and a security entourage, and then used the moment to press South Africans, young people in particular, to turn out in numbers in the local government elections.

As Sunday World reported on 4 November, Mashatile argued that the ballot remains one of the most powerful tools citizens have to shape the country’s democratic future, and that voting is how communities get a say in how they are governed.

“I am glad to be here with my wife as we are also exercising our right to vote. This is a great moment for our country, where we are playing our role in democracy as we vote for our political parties,” he said after voting.

His emphasis on young voters was the centre of his message. Mashatile said municipal councils make decisions that land directly on the communities people live in, and that young people should recognise what their participation decides. “I urge all young people to go out and vote, as this is a great opportunity for them to get their voices heard through the ballot,” he said.

He also framed the day as one shared across party lines. “As a people voting for different parties, it is a great feeling that we do so with love for our country,” he said.

Before casting his ballot, Mashatile visited the ANC’s information stall outside the church, where Gauteng ANC provincial secretary Sasabona Manganye welcomed him. He then did something unusual for election day, walking to the information stalls of opposition parties including the EFF, DA and Al Jama-ah and wishing them well.

The Deputy President did not campaign as a neutral observer. He said he was confident the ANC would win, and that the party’s mayoral candidates and councillors had been given a clear mandate to prioritise service delivery. “I am very confident that the ANC will win elections as we are optimistic towards working for our people,” he said. “The party is confident that the mayoral candidates and councillors we have put forward will make us proud after elections, as we have told them that we need to work tirelessly for our people.”

The elections decide who controls municipalities and oversees the delivery of essential services for the next five years, which is why the appeals to turnout carry weight beyond the party contest. A vote for a council is a vote for the people who run water, refuse collection, electricity connections and local roads in a resident’s own ward.

Mashatile’s appeal to young voters lands in a country where the question of whether young people show up at all is a live one. He put the case plainly, that the decisions taken by municipal councils directly affect the communities in which young people live, and that abstaining hands those decisions to others.