President Cyril Ramaphosa has attempted to deal with voting hesitancy by telling those planning to boycott the ANC and the elections to go and vote – for any party.
“I need you to be the one who will get more involved,” President Cyril Ramaphosa told disillusioned communications and psychology graduate Chantel Mthethwa (26) during the ANC’s door-to-door elections campaign in Tekwane South in Mbombela Municipality in Mpumalanga. “I don’t need you to say, ‘I am not going to vote’,” he said. “I don’t care who you vote for, but you’ve got to exercise your right and say, ‘I am going to make my mark because I want to make a difference’.”
He also told her to be an active citizen and use her university education and the experience she had as leader on the students’ representative council to get involved in the community and raise awareness about issues such as the nearby bridge that washed away in floods in April, and drug abuse.
This, he said, could be done in organisations outside of party politics.
Ramaphosa chose to spend Sunday, the second day on the ANC’s campaign trail ahead of the 1 November local government elections, in Mbombela. The day…