Two thirds of South Africans aren’t voting, survey reveals
Information for the survey was gathered through Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI).
THE outcome of the local government elections will be decided by just a third of the South African population, according to the multinational market research and consulting firm, Ipsos.
The director and political analyst for Ipsos SA, Mari Harris cited Stats SA Mid-Year Estimates and said there are currently 42.6 million South Africans who are eligible to vote.
“Of these, 26.2 million (61,6%) are registered to vote (IEC registration figures). If we expect a countrywide medium voter turnout in the local government elections, about 14.6 million will draw their crosses on Monday. This figure represents only 34.3% of the total population eligible to vote,” said Harris.
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“Voter apathy will thus be a feature of this election, as it was in the last few elections. This is one of the most important findings of a recent pre-election study conducted by Ipsos, on behalf of eNCA. The study was undertaken between October 9 and 14 and made use of a CATI methodology (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing),” continued Harris.
IEC statistics reveal that 5 472 321 voters are registered in KwaZulu-Natal. Of this, 1 915 319 (35%) are in eThekwini. The highest percentage of voters is in the 30 to 39 age group, with men making up 12.63% and women 14.73%. In the 80 and above age group, women account for 1.72% while men are at 0%.
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According to Ipsos, a low voter turnout will mean that only 30% of registered voters turn out to vote.
“If about 56% of registered voters turn out to vote on Monday, women will be in the majority (53%) and 47% of voters will be men. Young people will form a small proportion of the voters at the polls (6%), while other age groups will be more visible in the queues,” said Harris.
Visit the IEC website for more statistics.
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