Homeless people in Cape Town will also be voting in the 2021 Local Government Elections.
Mayco member for Community Services and Health, Zahid Badroodien said that the city has assisted many of the homeless to register to vote, however there are many major challenges that are hindering the poor from casting their ballot.
There are around 14 000 homeless people in Cape Town and those who have experienced hardship are hopeful that their vote will bring positive change.
Anda Mazantsana said: “for me personally, I do feel now coming into these elections that something else will be done by the government to try and empower the homeless instead of chasing the homeless from where they are.”
However, there are others that have said that they have been robbed of their democratic right to vote.
Voters need to have ID document in order to cast their ballot and the City of Cape Town said that it is harder to assist the homeless with IDs if they do not have a permanent place of residence.
Badroodien said, “because it’s elections and because those who have accepted our support in our safe spaces may have access to IDs, they now have an opportunity as well. So there are two main issues at play here. One is obviously access to IDs which unlocks your ability to vote and unlocks your ability to employment but also we see, unfortunately, homeless people move around from community to community.”
With the elections looming, politicians will be hoping for as may votes as possible, even if it comes from people without a home.
Sources: MSN, ENCA
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