FAKE NEWS: Not voting? That ‘non-vote’ does NOT go to the ANC
The IEC debunks the election season's most common myth.
FILE: African National Congress President Cyril Ramaphosa. Picture: Supplied/@MYANC on X
If you have been on social media in recent months you have probably seen conversations about what happens to your 'vote', if you don't cast it.
Many believe that if you are a registered voter and choose not to vote on election day, your ‘vote’ automatically goes to the ruling party.
There is this myth that if you don’t vote then your vote is automatically goes to the ANC. It’s scary just how many people believe this.
— Noxolo Madonsela (@Noxxcee) March 20, 2023
IT IS NOT TRUE... that if you don't vote, your "vote" automatically goes to the ANC.
— Penuel The Black Pen (@GodPenuel) April 21, 2024
That is false propaganda by opposition parties trying to get you to vote for them.
If you do not want to vote, don't vote. That's your Constitutional right.
This myth has been doing the rounds for years and the IEC has had to debunk it.
"Only valid votes cast in an election are counted in the result," they explain.
There is absolutely no truth to the rumour that if you don’t vote your vote will go to the ruling (or any other) party. Only valid votes cast in an election are counted in the result. Thanks for checking.
— IEC South Africa (@IECSouthAfrica) May 8, 2019
Africa Check adds that in the 2019 election, voter turnout was 66.05%.
This means out of 26,756,649 registered voters, only 17,672,851 cast their votes.
In other words, just over nine million people did not vote.
In that election, the ruling party received just over 10 million votes (57,5%). If the nine million ‘no votes’ were credited to the ANC, its share would have risen to an impossible 109,59%.
If its total consisted of the nine million ‘no votes’, it means only 5.4% of the votes were cast for the ANC.
Why should I vote?
Choosing to vote allows you to be part of the decision-making that affects your life and the future of our country.
By not voting, you allow others to decide for you.
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