VOTER turnout in South Africa’s municipal elections slumped, potentially meaning reduced support for the ruling African National Congress.
About 8 million people cast their ballots by 5 p.m. on Monday out of a total of 26.2 million registered voters, the nation’s electoral authority said in a statement. That suggests turnout was about 31% four hours before polls closed, compared with 58% in the last local-government poll in 2016.
“We encourage eligible voters who have not voted to use the remaining hours to go out and vote,” the electoral commission said in a statement.
A low turnout in which only 27% of registered voters cast their ballots may result in the ANC’s share of the national vote falling to 39%, from 54% in 2016, according to a poll conducted by Johannesburg-based broadcaster eNCA and research company Ipsos. The scenario would favor the opposition Democratic Alliance and the populist Economic Freedom Fighters, whose shares could rise to 32% and 13%, from 26.9% and 8.2% respectively in the previous election, the survey showed.
| High Turnout (59%) | Medium Turnout (42%) | Low Turnout (27%) | |
| ANC | 38.5% | 46.5% | 38.5% |
| DA | 31.5% | 24.2% | 31.5% |
| EFF | 13.4% | 12.8% | 13% |
| Source: eNCA, Ipsos poll |
Polling stations were scheduled to close at 9 p.m. local time, with initial results from the election to be released early on Tuesday, the electoral body said.
- Bloomberg
