This webinar launches an in-depth research paper by Dr Collette Schulz-Herzenberg that delves into this crucial topic.
On 8 May 2019, South Africans voted in their sixth democratic national and provincial elections. A record 26.7 million eligible South Africans registered to vote in the election. The registered population represented 74.6% of the total voting age population, of over 35.8 million. Over 17.6 million voters participated on election day, yet electoral participation decreased quite dramatically, accelerating the steady decline in voter turnout across South Africa’s previous democratic elections.
Voter turnout is regarded as a crucial indicator of the vitality and health of a democracy. High turnout is a sign of an enthusiastic and politically involved electorate while low turnout is associated with voter apathy and even mistrust of the political process.
Join Sheilan Clarke of My Vote Counts and John Steenhuisen, Leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), as they unpack the various factors at play, and possible solutions.
Expert input will be provided by Dr Collette Schulz-Herzenberg of Stellenbosch University. The discussion will be moderated by constitutional law expert Rebecca Sibanda, of the Parliamentary Monitoring Group.