There is a rumour that if you do not vote, your vote automatically goes to the ruling party.
While this rumour has been circulating throughout the country for many years and is generally believed to be true, the outreach and communication officer for the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in the Gauteng Province, Moses Pitso, busted this rumour saying it is simply a myth.
“We only count ballot papers in the ballot boxes and the outcome is recorded on the result slips,” Pitso added.
The Krugersdorp News hit the streets to hear if residents believed this rumour.
Justice Mpofo, a gardener, is one such believer while another resident and construction worker Neves Bendzane, said the same because society made him believe it to be true.
Nwabisa Dobo agreed this to be a fact and needed no proof.
Brandon Cloete agreed, saying, “I believe the stories that if you don’t vote, it automatically goes to the ruling party. I honestly believe this is how it works in the country.”
LLB student Duvan Britz says voting is a way for citizens to express their voices on the problems in the country and to make a difference.
“I believe in our democratic society that when a person abstains from voting it does not automatically add to the ruling, or any other party’s tally, but rather constitutes a missed opportunity to express and make a change in this country. If the youth would have a better mentality by voting it would make a tremendous difference. Thus, every vote is pivotal in shaping the political direction.”
