The Human Science Research Council (HSRC) has attributed the high voter turnout during Wednesday’s national and provincial elections to intensive political party campaigns and voter education.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) said it expected the voter turnout to be higher than during the 2019 elections.
On Wednesday evening, IEC Chief Executive Officer Sy Mamabolo said there had been a late surge and the commission was processing a large number of votes in certain areas, in particular the metropolitan areas in Gauteng, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
Deputy chief electoral officer Masego Sheburi said the commission was on track to accommodate a high voter turnout.
“The commission planned on receiving many voters. You see it from our provisioning (of materials). We also estimated that the turnout may be more than 66%, that is the basis on which we made our plans. We are happy to report that from the steady (flow of people to voting stations), if indications are anything to go by, we may match or just (exceed) a 66% voter turnout.
“That is not blind hope, it is hope informed by the following: between 2021 and the certification of the voters roll before this election, we lost no fewer than 800 000 people on the voters roll.”
In December, a HSRC study revealed that there was a “deep discontent with democratic and leadership performance” and its findings suggested that the low voter turnout seen in 2019 would be repeated in 2024. The December study found that predicted electoral absenteeism was attributed to “political discontent and disillusionment” as per an IEC Voter Participatory Survey. The study suggested that the IEC and parties needed to do more to convince people to vote.
On Wednesday, social media was inundated with videos that showed long queues at voting stations, where people came out in large numbers to cast their votes, some waiting for up to six hours.
Senior research specialist for the HSRC, Dr Steven Gordon, said campaigns had a positive effect on voter turnout.
“This was aided especially by the efforts by opposition parties to convince voters to register and vote.
“There was also the contingent effect when people see long queues at voting stations on TV, and they are also encouraged to go and do the same,” he said.
Political analyst Zakhele Ndlovu said many people described the elections as their “1994”, where they had to make their mark for change.
“On social media, people were comparing this year’s election to 1994 and a lot of new voters came out in numbers,” he said.
“I attribute the large voter turnout to various reasons. People are unhappy about unemployment, load shedding, corruption and there is an overall concern for the future of their children.
It has been 30 years since the first democratic election and people are unhappy ... some went to the polls to punish the ANC,” Ndlovu said.
“The formation of the MK Party also led to people going out to vote, but their party leader, Jacob Zuma, also played the victim card and people went out to punish the ANC for persecuting him.”
The Mercury