Before the 2024 General Election, an HSRC research survey revealed that 47% of young people believed that their vote would not make a difference.

As the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) gears up for a __final voter registration round __on 1 and 2 August 2026, we should amplify messaging that assures young South Africans that their vote will not break the country â it is better to vote and make a mistake than to abstain completely.

Having worked in an institution that advances electoral integrity across Africa, I am struck by how the struggles of the youth are the same across geographic boundaries, yet their voting behaviours vary significantly.

Liberians voted decisively in 2023, resulting in a peaceful change of power from the CDC to the UP. Likewise, Zambians voted decisively in 2021, transferring power from the PF to the UPND, a party that had been in opposition since 1998. Both countries are an important reminder that life continues after power alternations.

Shared challenges

Liberia and Zambia share deep socioeconomic challenges with South Africa. Young Liberians bear the scars of a devastating civil war and a complex history of systemic exclusion. Crippling unemployment, poverty and drug abuse are prevalent among the youth. The crisis was so severe that in 2024, the president declared drug abuse a national health emergency.

Yet, during elections, the power of Liberian youth is a force politicians cannot ignore. Having voted for the famous Ballon dâOr winner, George Weah, into the presidency in 2017, the youth mobilised to vote him out in 2023. The campaign was so charged that it was difficult to tell in which direction the vote would turn, as the first-round results showed a close margin of 7,126 votes.

The final campaign rallies in the capital city, Monrovia, drew such massive turnout that the police and employers advised people to work from home.

Both parties invested heavily in getting the youth to leave their keyboards and take to the streets. Liberiaâs National Electoral Commission (NEC) was also under immense pressure to deliver credible elections. Politicians capitalised on institutional weaknesses to sow doubt.

Nonetheless, despite valid concerns about its ties with the ruling party, the NEC delivered a credible electoral outcome. Although George Weah faced immense internal pressure from his cadres to dispute the results, he ultimately accepted defeat and congratulated Joseph Boakai.

Closer to home, young Zambians voted out then President Lungu of the PF in favour of opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema of the UPND in 2021.

The vote was decisive, with 70.6% voter turnout, bypassing a serious incumbency advantage and the weight of state machinery.

Democratic muscles flexed

The important lesson is that the youth did not vote because they found a flawless or perfect alternative; rather, they voted to flex their democratic muscle.

Disgruntled by the scourge of corruption, unemployment and rise of cadresim, they used their numbers to force a change.

As Zambia also prepares to head to the polls on 13 August 2026, there is a lingering knowledge that youth turnout can bypass the most sophisticated campaign machinery. In both cases I have highlighted, the sky did not fall.

Although profound challenges persist, young Liberians and Zambians have tasted their power through the ballots. By voting decisively, they have ensured that they live under administrations that know they are replaceable.

As the IEC continues to appeal for the youth to register to vote, our messaging must shift.

Over the past three decades, South Africa has built strong state institutions, civil society and a media landscape that is sturdy enough to handle any electoral outcome. The only thing our democracy cannot survive is the youthâs absence at the polls. DM