Every election cycle, an average of 1-million additional South Africans register to vote. Many of them are young, first-time registrants.

Despite this increase in registered voters, the number of people who head to the polls has been around 18-million since 2009.

Young voters aged 18 to 19, with their freshly issued ID cards, usually record a high turnout (80%). But it’s a different story for 20- to 29-year-olds. In 2019, only 56% of registered voters in this age group voted, which was 10% below the national average. Theirs was one of the lowest turnouts, with only the over-80s lower at 50%.