Voter despair threatens SA democracy, says IEC chief

South Africa’s democracy is facing one of its most dangerous moments since 1994 as growing frustration over unemployment, poor service delivery and declining trust in institutions pushes some voters towards anti-democratic alternatives, says Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) chair Mosotho Moepya.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Moepya painted a bleak picture of a country battling political fatigue, voter apathy and growing disillusionment ahead of the local government elections in November.

He said millions of South Africans were increasingly questioning whether democracy had improved their lives.

The IEC is preparing for its first registration weekend on June 20-21, which will be the first indicator of the voter landscape for November.

“Democracy the world over is taking a beating at the moment, and South Africa is not spared from that,” Moepya said. “There are many people who say democracy has not delivered to them. They have not seen the fruits of democracy.”

He said widespread unemployment, failing service delivery and deepening hopelessness, particularly among young people, were driving the growing dissatisfaction.

“It’s linked to joblessness, it’s linked to service delivery, and it’s linked to people who are generally saying we are unhappy, we don’t have hope. Even young South Africans are saying, because of joblessness, we don’t have hope.”

Moepya revealed that research conducted between October and February found that 21% of registered voters were so disillusioned they would not vote if an election were held immediately. “This 21% is significant,” he said.

The research also found that 30% of respondents wanted “renewed hope”, while 20% identified unemployment as their biggest concern. Another 12% said poor service delivery had pushed them away from the electoral process.

More concerning, Moepya said, was the growing number of people who no longer believed democratic elections could solve South Africa’s problems.

“They are saying, ‘I’m even willing to get someone to lead me even if they use means other than voting’ — whether it’s a coup, whether it’s a strongman, whatever it is — and that is a very dangerous position.”

The IEC, he said, was increasingly worried about the erosion of trust in democratic institutions and the electoral system itself.

One of the major concerns identified in the research was declining confidence in the integrity of elections. About 7% of respondents said they doubted the credibility of electoral processes overseen by the IEC.

“That 7% is a matter that speaks directly to us, and we must address it,” Moepya said.

He acknowledged that technical glitches during the 2024 general election, particularly the temporary collapse of the results display system, had damaged the IEC’s credibility.

“I accept that when the leaderboard could not bring results for two hours, the message it sent worked against the IEC,” he said.

However, Moepya insisted that the actual counting and capturing systems remained fully functional throughout.

“When the result board did not screen results in 2024, it did not mean the results were not working. The machines used by political parties continued to produce results. Our own systems were working. We simply were not able to beam them on the screen.”

He dismissed allegations by some political parties that the election results were manipulated.

“It’s near impossible to change results in South Africa,” he said.

Moepya warned that reckless claims by politicians accusing the IEC of stealing votes were damaging public confidence in democracy

“Results are determined when voting stops. Party agents and observers are in voting stations throughout the day and during counting. They are allowed to take photos of the result slips.”

Moepya warned that reckless claims by politicians accusing the IEC of stealing votes were damaging public confidence in democracy.

“It is irresponsible of anyone to say ‘our votes have been stolen’. It is simply to bring the work of elections into disrepute,” he said.

“When voters don’t turn out on election day, we wonder why. It’s because sometimes we damage that confidence voters have.”

He warned that declining voter turnout would make future elections harder to manage and weaken their legitimacy.

“Low voter turnout would be disappointing. It would mean that our job of ensuring democracy works has become harder.”

Despite the growing challenges, Moepya said the IEC was working to rebuild public trust by improving voter experiences, reducing queues and making registration easier through online systems.

“We are willing to do the hard things,” he said. “Our role in democracy is to strengthen it and safeguard it. It is not one that seeks to weaken it and tick boxes.”