By Thapelo Molefe
Growing dissatisfaction with democracy and declining trust in political institutions are pushing some South Africans away from the ballot box, despite positive experiences reported by those who participated in the 2026 local government elections, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) has found.
The findings point to a widening divide between voters who remain motivated to participate in elections and a growing section of the population that has become increasingly disillusioned with the country’s democratic system.
“There is a really increasing divide that we started observing through the two survey series that we conduct on behalf of the Electoral Commission,” HSRC Research Director Benjamin Roberts said.
Presenting the Electoral Commission of South Africa’s (IEC) Election Satisfaction Survey (ESS) findings on Friday, Roberts said the contrasting experiences highlighted a growing challenge for South Africa’s democracy.
“The electoral process ultimately retains fundamental confidence amongst the voting public,” Roberts said.
“It’s
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