South Africa’s social media influencers, popular with the youth, have been stepping into a new role ahead of this week’s general election – political mobilisers. With 42% of registered voters under the age of 40, the younger demographic could have a big role to play in Wednesday’s election. Nestled in between videos of jokes about power cuts and relationships, Karabo “Kay” Mahapa, a TikTok creator who boasts over 350,000 followers, takes a detour from his usual content to tell people to get out and vote.
The messages have targeted the young electorate, which a recent survey identified as being pessimistic about the country’s future. The recurring question under Mahapa’s election-themed videos – “Who are we voting for?” – reflects a generation’s uncertainty. “I simply want to highlight the importance of voting,” he told the BBC.
While Mahapa has never explicitly told his followers which party to put their cross next to, he has made it clear which one he will not be voting for. In one of his videos, which has over 1.7 million views, he earnestly asks if people will agree to not back the governing African National Congress (ANC).
It is impossible to know how many of those will agree with Mahapa but if opinion polls are correct then the ANC may lose its outright majority in parliament for the first time since 1994, at the end of white-minority rule. In recent years, the party has been bogged down by allegations of corruption and economic mismanagemen.
