Ipsos study reveals voter alienation, low municipal trust, and a mixed appetite for polls as 2026/7 elections approach – regardless of a choice of more than 500 parties
A week before the local government elections on 1 November 2021, registered voters are largely dissatisfied with the choices they made in the previous local government elections in 2016. The majority of those able to draw their crosses next Monday also want their local authorities to provide safety and security as a priority.
With service delivery in the spotlight over the last few months, the most important post-1994 election in South Africa’s history will take place on Wednesday 8 May 2019 and, in spite of the electorate’s unhappiness about service delivery and other issues, it is unlikely that the low turnout figure and the phenomenon of ANC “stay-away voters” of the local government elections of August 2016 will be repeated.
How many points out of ten would you give Cyril Ramaphosa as a political leader? Registered voters feel that South Africa’s president currently deserves 6.5 points on this scale.
When asked whether elections in South Africa are free and fair, a majority (61%) of registered voters agreed, while 20% disagreed. (A further 19% neither agreed nor disagreed or indicated that they did not know.)
A number of South African voters are still deciding which party to vote for in the national and provincial elections and it is clear that opinions about the three biggest parties differ widely. For some perspective we can look the most popular opinions about each, expressed in the latest Ipsos Pulse of the People™.
Ongoing and high-profile service delivery protests have been an important feature of the run-up to the National and Provincial elections on 8 May 2019. Moreover, uncertainty about which political party or parties to choose and diminished trust in political parties and political leaders have also made headlines.
Africa Check and Ipsos invite you to join the discussion of the 2019 Elections Manifestos (ANC/EFF/DA). Ipsos will present their research on public perception around political parties and key issues while Africa Check will share their findings on how the facts in the manifestos hold up. KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY JUDGE SACHS
The IEC’s focus on motivating young people in South Africa to register to vote in May this year Is very necessary, as only six in every ten (61%) between the ages of 18 and 24 are already registered to vote. This will be the first opportunity for many of this age group to have a direct influence on the democracy and administration of their country and the low registration is concerning.
