Vusi Gumbi
South Africa

Vusimuzi (Vusi) Gumbi is a Researcher at the Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation at the University of Johannesburg. He obtained his Master’s Degree in Politics with distinction. His dissertation explored the role of symbolism in organized political life and whether such similarities impact voter behavior. He also obtained a distinction for his Bachelor of Arts dissertation which explored the nexus between the PR electoral system and accountability deficit in the South African parliament. His research interests in democracy, elections and political processes were reinforced when he was deployed by the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa to Lesotho in 2017 and Mozambique in 2019, as part of the election observation missions and working with the Carter Center on the 2019 South African General Elections. In 2020, he won season eight of South Africa’s youth leadership debate show, One Day Leader. He also serves as the Spokesperson to the Speaker of Council in the City of Johannesburg. After completing the Mandela Washington Fellowship, he plans to contribute towards scholarship in areas of democracy and promoting good governance and one day work for the Electoral Commission. He hopes to use the Fellowship’s network to learn about improving government communication in policy-making and service delivery.