the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)
4 February 2009
Results of the 2008 Voter Participation Survey commissioned by the IEC
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) released the final Voter
Participation Survey today at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand ahead of
the final voter registration weekend of 7 and 8 February 2009.
The IEC commissioned the Centre for Socio-Economic Surveys (CSES) of the
Human Science Research Council (HSRC) to conduct a study to investigate the
state of the electoral process including voting behaviour of South Africans and
the ability and preparedness of the IEC to manage all aspects of elections.
When releasing the results of the survey, the Chairperson of the Electoral
Commission, Dr Brigalia Bam, said "throughout the years we have undertaken
various steps to keep in touch with voters and prospective voters through,
among others, voter and democracy education campaigns and the use of a wide
variety of media platforms such as billboards, boards on train station
platforms, wall murals, taxi television, television and radio. Another way of
keeping pace with the expectations of the voters is to do systematic and
scientific investigation on their needs instead of working purely on untested
perceptions and assumptions."
The IEC works in partnership with a variety of stakeholders, including civil
society organisations who conduct voter and balloting education to the general
public. This survey will provide meaningful insights to these organisations in
terms of what the real issues on the ground are, thereby informing them of the
areas that require review and/or emphasis in their training to the target
groups.
The results of the survey have the following usefulness to the IEC and the
public:
* Provides empirical evidence of strengths and weaknesses of the electoral
process.
* Informs the conceptualisation and planning for the communication campaigns,
the content and medium of providing voter education as well as the selection of
the ideal partners to collaborate with in communicating and preparing for the
elections.
* Useful tool for supporting the IEC strategy and identifying the gaps that
require review.
* Post-election tool for further analysis and investigation.
* Provides a situational analysis of the state of democracy in the
country.
* Provides an agenda for democracy development in the country.
Research methodology
This survey covered a representative random sample of 4 000 respondents who
were interviewed in all nine provinces across the country. It sought to inform
the IEC on its preparations and readiness for the first voter registration in
November 2008 and the forthcoming one on the 7 to 8 February 2009
respectively.
The survey is composed of three components, namely, a desktop review of
existing literature on elections, a focus group discussion that targeted
special groups (such as traditional leaders, the youth, people with disability
among others) and a national survey of a representative sample of 4 000 South
Africans aged 18 years and above. The questionnaire was administered
face-to-face to the selected respondents in their preferred language.
In ensuring that the data gathered was of high quality, a team of eleven
field supervisors and 118 fieldworkers was trained and supervised by
researchers from the HSRC. Check-backs of 10 percent of the questionnaires were
conducted. Data was captured, cleaned programmatically and weighted to the
target population of South Africans aged 18 and above.
Key findings
Identity documents (ID)
Over 97 percent of those interviewed had a South African, green, bar-coded
identification document. However, eight percent of the youth (those aged 18 to
24 years) did not have ID documents, but 97 percent of them intend applying for
one.
Voter registration
Asked whether they were registered, 73 percent of those interviewed answered in
the affirmative with Northern Cape (82 percent) and the Eastern Cape (81
percent) reporting the highest number of registered voters. About 89 percent
were registered in the voting district they resided in. The lowest number of
registrations was among the youth (18 to 24 years) (22 percent) and people with
no income (58 percent).
The largest proportion of people (31 percent) was registered in 2004. The
results indicate that more people were registered during years of the national
and provincial elections than in the other years.
Did you find easy to register?
The majority (97 percent) of those interviewed found it easy to register and
received proof of registration. The most common duration of time taken to
register was five to ten minute reported by 29 percent. About 16 percent took
more than 30 minutes to register. Shortest time, "less than five minutes," was
reported in Western Cape (29 percent) and among the Coloureds (26 percent)
while the longest, "over 30 minutes," was reported in North West (28 percent)
among Africans (12 percent).
How interested are you in national and provincial elections?
About 79 percent were interested in the national and provincial elections with
Gauteng and Limpopo registering the highest proportions while KwaZulu-Natal and
Western Cape had the least. Asked if they would vote if national and provincial
elections were held tomorrow, 81 percent agreed. However, North West (73
percent) and KwaZulu-Natal (76 percent) had relatively lower figures than the
other provinces. The likelihood to vote increased with age. Whites were more
likely to vote than any other race group. About 30 percent felt they would be
encouraged to vote "if the queues were shorter" and "if they felt their vote
would make a difference in the outcome of the elections."
Asked what they would do in the next elections if the party they voted for
did not meet their expectations?
41 percent indicated that they would "give their party another chance" while 30
percent would "vote for another party". If they felt they could not vote for
the party of their choice, Whites and Asian/Indians (50 percent) would vote for
another party while Africans (48 percent) would abstain from voting.
Why vote?
Asked why they vote, 75 percent said they vote because their vote makes a
difference while 81 percent felt it was their duty as citizens to vote.
When should voting take place?
Those interviewed were equality divided over when voting should take place with
32 percent indicating either normal working day, public holiday or weekend.
Gender difference on perception about voting
There were gender differences on perception about voting. Asked who they would
vote for, 32 percent of males compared to 23 percent of females said they would
never vote for woman. About 15 percent of males compared to 26 percent of
females indicated that women make better politicians than men. On whether women
should get more involved in politics to solve problems that concerned them, 69
percent of all respondents agreed. It was generally agreed by 84 percent that
schools should play a leading role in educating the youth about elections.
Sufficiency of information
With regard to sufficiency of information, 53 percent had enough information
about services provided by the IEC while 60 percent had enough about how to
vote. Two out of three people felt the timing of information about national and
provincial elections should be a few week before the elections.
Performance of the IEC
Over 72 percent were pleased with the performance of the IEC during the
previous elections and over 80 percent were satisfied with the most recent
voting experience. Over 90 percent were satisfied with the service offered by
the IEC officials in terms of language used, friendliness and efficiency.
Generally the election procedures were considered free and fair by 89 percent
of the respondents.
Voter education
Six out of ten people were aware of the IEC voter education
campaigns/programmes with the lowest proportions in the Western Cape (42
percent), rural areas (42 percent) and the youth (44 percent).
Conclusion
"We will be happy to receive your comments and inputs on the findings of this
survey as well as your views on how to ensure an environment that is conducive
to free and fair elections in this year's elections," said Dr Bam.
Dr Bam further encouraged South Africans who have not yet registered to do
so over the coming weekend. Registered voters who have moved should also
re-register in their new voting district.
For more information on registration and voting:
* Contact the IEC Call Centre toll free from a landline on 0800 11 8000 (cell
phone users should note that their calls will be charged)
* Visit the IEC website at http://www.elections.org.za, or
* SMS your ID number to 32810.
An electronic copy of the IEC Voter Participation Survey is available on the
IEC website.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Kate Bapela
Cell: 082 600 6386
Issued by: Independent Electoral Commission
4 February 2009
Source: Independent Electoral Commission (http://www.elections.org.za)
