The African National Congress (ANC) today launched a mobile app on Mxit as it vies for the youth vote in this year's national elections.
The MyANC app is available for free download. A party statement says users can "gain access to information on service delivery, learn about ANC events, voting and registering for the 2014 elections and details of their local ward councillors".
Other functionality includes polls and volunteer sign-up capabilities and the ANC says the launch "follows the success of the My ANC Western Cape Mxit application, which gained more than 400 000 subscribers".
ANC national spokesperson Jackson Mthembu says the app demonstrates the party's "strong commitment to connect and engage with the SA youth".
"Young people across the country will now be able to access and learn more about the ANC and how to vote to ensure the voice of their generation is being heard," he adds.
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Fuseware MD Mike Wronski says Mxit will provide the ruling party access to a large user base, despite the platform "no longer experiencing hockey stick growth".
Wronski says most of Mxit's user base still uses it on older feature phones - a market he says is valuable for political parties.
Mxit CEO Francois Swart says the social network is well-suited to organisations seeking to start a conversation with their user base.
"Politics is an important conversation in South Africa - especially when it comes to the youth, who might be less engaged in the conversation happening in newspapers and other media platforms," he says.
The ANC joins the Democratic Alliance and Agang SA in establishing a Mxit presence.
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