SECTION A..............................................................................................................................................1
3.1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................1
3.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT.....................................................................................................................1
3.3 VOTER APATHY, ELECTIONS AND DEMOCRACY: CONCEPTUAL NEXUS..............................................2
3.3.1 Voter apathy.................................................................................................................................2
3.3.2 Elections........................................................................................................................................3
3.3.3 Democracy....................................................................................................................................3
3.4 RESEARCH METHOD FRAMEWORK..................................................................................................4
3.4.1 Qualitative and quantitative research designs..............................................................................4
3.4.2 Reasons for using a mixed research design...................................................................................5
3.4.3 Goal of the study...........................................................................................................................6
3.4.4 Research objectives......................................................................................................................6
3.4.5 Research questions.......................................................................................................................6
3.4.6 Population and sampling..............................................................................................................7
3.4.6.1 Study population........................................................................................................................7
3.4.6.2 Sampling method.......................................................................................................................7
3.4.6.3 Sample size................................................................................................................................7
3.4.6.4 Unit of analysis...........................................................................................................................8
3.4.6.5 Data analysis method.................................................................................................................8
3.5 DATA-COLLECTION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES............................................................................8
3.5.1 Quantitative data collection..........................................................................................................8
3.5.2 Qualitative data collection............................................................................................................9
SECTION B............................................................................................................................................10
3.6 DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS..............................................................................................10
3.6.1 Quantitative results.....................................................................................................................10
3.6.1.1 Theme 1: Factors that contribute to voter apathy among university students........................10
3.6.1.1.1 Economic factors...................................................................................................................10
3.6.1.1.2 Lack political knowledge.......................................................................................................11
3.6.1.1.3 Media influence....................................................................................................................11
3.6.1.2 Strategies to enhance university students’ participation in electoral processes......................12
3.6.1.2.1 Voter education....................................................................................................................12
3.6.1.2.1 Political engagement.............................................................................................................13
3.6.1.2.1 Use of technology.................................................................................................................14
ii
,3.6.2 Qualitative results.......................................................................................................................15
3.6.2.1 Theme 1: Factors that contribute to voter apathy among university students........................15
3.6.2.1.1 Economic factors...................................................................................................................15
3.6.2.1.2 Lack of political knowledge.................................................................................................15
3.6.2.1.3 Media influence..................................................................................................................16
3.6.2.2 Strategies to enhance university students’ participation in electoral processes......................17
3.6.2.2.1 Voter education....................................................................................................................17
3.6.2.2.2 Political engagement.............................................................................................................17
3.6.2.2.3 Use of technology.................................................................................................................18
3.6.3 Discussion of results...................................................................................................................19
3.6.3.1 Theme 1: Factors that contribute to voter apathy among university students........................19
3.6.3.2 Theme 2: Strategies to enhance students’ participation in electoral processes.......................21
3.7 CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................23
3.8 LIST OF SOURCES............................................................................................................................24
ADDENDUM A AND B...........................................................................................................................26
iii
, SECTION A
3.1 INTRODUCTION
Democratic principles in South Africa coincided with the advancement of political
participation in the form of the electoral process. In South Africa, the attainment of political
freedom from the apartheid regime in 1994 ignited the application of electoral reforms that
are based on fairness, equality, and free participation. Equally so, voting determines the
selection of representatives in the national, provincial, and local governmental units.
However, a decrease in university students’ participation in voting is a growing phenomenon
motivated by different factors. Against this backdrop, the purpose of the study is to explore
voter apathy among South African university students, particularly University of South Africa
(UNISA) students. The study applied a mixed-methods research methodology to explore
voter apathy among UNISA students. Data collection is informed by questionnaires and
open-ended questions. This research elucidates the problem statement of decreased UNISA
students’ participation in voting. The conceptual nexus is explained based on voter apathy,
elections, and democracy. Most importantly, research method frameworks constitute an
important component of the research. This is reinforced by the presentation and discussion of
research findings.
3.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
The South African national and provincial elections in 2014 were marked by the involvement
of children born after 1994 (Kekana, 2023). Most importantly, out of 31.4 million qualified
voters, 25 million South Africans registered to vote (Kekana, 2023). The election was
labelled a “youth” election owing to the greater number of youth participants. Youth between
18 and 29 years old accounted for 34% of registered voters, while 1.9 million were between
18 and 19 years old (Chauke, 2020). The indication is that youths hold stronger influence in
the South African political sphere because of their greater representation. However,
researchers, media, and political actors argue that the influential power of the youth is
diminished by increasing youth voter apathy (Badaru and Adu, 2021).
The prevalence of youth voter apathy is demonstrated in the patterns of youth participation in
national and provincial elections. The 1994 national elections accounted for 85.53% of youth
voter turnout, while 63.86% was recorded in the 1999 national elections (Oyedemi and
Mahlatji, 2016). The increasingly high level of youth participation in elections was recorded
1
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