Lack of trust in govt and political parties contributed to low voter turnout in 2024 polls - IEC

JOHANNESBURG - The Electoral Commission (IEC) says its research shows a lack of trust in government and political parties contributed to the low voter turnout in last year’s elections.

The 2024 general elections registered a 58.6% voter turnout, the lowest in the country’s democratic history.

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More than 11 million people who were registered to vote stayed away from the polls.

In an interview with EWN, the IEC’s deputy chief electoral officer, Masego Sheburi, said that the commission had investigated the contributing factors.

"They (voters) have serious trust deficit with key government institutions, one being local government, two being political parties as the main vehicles where people exercise their political rights, so we think those two things, including the difficulty of load shedding and other social ills, may have resulted in some constituencies not turning up to vote."