Deep disparity in voter turnout still reflected between townships and suburbs

Résumé détaillé

While overall national turnout of registered voters breached 52%, higher than the 2021 turnout of 45.86%, election data reveal a gap between high-turnout suburban strongholds and…

While overall national turnout of registered voters breached 52%, higher than the 2021 turnout of 45.86%, election data reveal a gap between high-turnout suburban strongholds and lower voter engagement across township wards.

Although voter turnout was higher than in the 2021 elections, data from Gauteng indicate significant differences between turnout in townships and rural areas, and turnout in suburbs. Further, only around 35.4% of eligible voters turned up at the polls.

On Sunday, 8 November, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) confirmed that 15.9 million South Africans cast their vote during the local government elections, equating to a registered voter turnout of 52%.

These figures put the 2026 voter turnout higher than the 2021 turnout of 45.86%, which was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. These figures are still lower than the 2016 local government elections, which had a turnout of 57.95%. Voter turnout figures are trending higher across all provinces than during the 2021 elections. In 2021, provinces recorded an average turnout of 46.2%, while in 2026, the average turnout climbed to 50.57%.

Elections analyst Wayne Sussman told Daily Maverick that the higher turnout compared with the previous election was a cause for celebration.

“We’re back over the 50% mark. Turnout in South Africa has been on a downward trajectory in the last two national elections, the last two local elections, and here in this election we see that turnout grows by a number of percentage points, well back above the 50% mark,” he said.

“This needs to be celebrated. South Africans came out and voted. All South Africans came out, and a large proportion of South Africans came out and voted, and this is very, very encouraging.”

While the voting turnout was higher, the number of eligible voters who turned up to the polls remained low. Market research company Ipsos estimates that 44.9 million South Africans were eligible to vote.

According to the IEC, 29.23 million South Africans registered to…

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