Young South Africans don’t bother with elections: would lowering the voting age make a difference?

📅 Published: August 19, 2025

📰 Source: theconversation

Curated by AllZimNews.com

What are the main driving forces for such a consideration?

Based on international comparisons, how advisable would it be?

What would be some of the implications of such a change for elections in South Africa?

The South African constitution does not state explicitly that the voting age is 18 years, but it is implied.

Section 1(d) entrenches the constitutional principle of universal adult suffrage.

Section 19(3) says “every adult citizen has the right (a) to vote in elections of any legislative body and (b) to stand for public office”.

The legal description of an adult is found in South African common law.

At the age of 18 years, a person becomes legally an adult or reaches the age of majority.

The South African Electoral Act, as amended in 2003, provides that a person can register as a voter at the age of 16 years but the name can be placed on the voters’ roll only once the applicant becomes 18 years old.

South Africa’s current dispensation is currently the same as those of most countries in the world.

The United Arab Emirates is the state with the oldest minimum voting age: 25 years.

In the following states it is 21 years: Singapore, Lebanon, Oman, Kuwait, Samoa and Tonga.