Two thirds of South Africans aren’t voting, survey reveals
Information for the survey was gathered through Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI).
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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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