Mkhize told members of parliament that frustrations over poor service delivery, unemployment and the rising cost of living are increasingly shaping whether people choose to vote. Parliament heard a briefing from the Independent Electoral Commission on the country’s readiness for next year’s local government elections. Responding to the IEC’s warning about the continuing decline of voter participation, Mkhize says the challenge is multifaceted

“Voters who are not interested in voting, these might be based on a lot of issues and I’m sure you have some research that would confirm all of this, particularly attitude towards the issues of service delivery, attitude towards the effectiveness in management of economic issues. Question of cost of living, unemployment, issues of corruption, crime drugs, basically the personal circumstances if people feel their circumstances have improved,” he said.

–SABC–