EFF SA’s most searched for party as elections approach
A fascinating look at what election topics South Africans asked Google this week.
Picture: Alberton Record.
Following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s election date announcement at his state of the nation address (Sona) on February 7, South Africans have turned to Google to find out more – including who the likely winner of the 2019 elections will be.
President Ramaphosa announced that the 2019 elections would take place on May 8. The elections will see the election of a new National Assembly and new provincial legislatures in each province. This will be the sixth election held since the end of the apartheid system in 1994.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) confirmed that 700,000 new voters registered during the final registration weekend (25 and 26 January), bringing the total number of registered voters on the voters roll to 26,727,921.
Search trends information is gleaned from data collated by Google based on what South Africans have been searching for and asking the search engine. Google processes more than 40,000 search queries every second.
Below is a round-up of what election topics South Africans asked Google this week, brought to you by Alberton Record.
The top ten election questions asked on Google last week:
- When is Election Day 2019?
- Is Election Day a holiday in South Africa?
- Who will win the 2019 elections?
- Is 8 May 2019 a public holiday?
- Who is the president of South Africa?
- Who made the economic decisions prior to the 1994 elections?
- What is an election?
- How is the president elected in South Africa?
- What is the process of voting in an election?
- What happens when electoral votes tie?
The top searched party in SA last week:
- Economic Freedom Fighters
- African National Congress
- Democratic Alliance
- Black First Land First
- African Christian Democratic Party
- Freedom Front Plus
- Good
- Inkatha Freedom Party
- United Democratic Movement
- African Transformation Movement
The top searched candidate in SA last week:
- Cyril Ramaphosa
- Julius Malema
- Mmusi Maimane
- Mangosuthu Buthelezi
- Patricia De Lille
- Bantu Holomisa
- Hlaudi Motsoeneng
- Andile Mngxitama
- Mosiuoa Lekota
- Gayton McKenzie
The top cities searching for elections last week:
- Sandton
- Stellenbosch
- Centurion
- Randburg
- Midrand
- Cape Town
- Johannesburg
- Durban
- Alberton
- Polokwane
Provincial election search leaderboard last week:
- Western Cape
- Northern Cape
- Limpopo
- Gauteng
- North West
- KwaZulu-Natal
- Free State
- Mpumalanga
- Eastern Cape
