A recent survey found that about 3% of the electorate were coerced into changing their vote despite the majority of voters stating that the elections were free and fair.
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This is according to the Human Sciences Research Council’s (HSRC) Election Satisfaction Survey (ESS), which interviewed 13 155 respondents at a sample of 300 voting stations across the country. As reported by News24, their margin of error is less than 1%.
The HSRC presented its findings to the media at the National Results Operations Centre on Friday.
As per the survey, 12% reported experiencing someone trying to force them to vote for a certain political party or candidate. Of these, 9% experienced this before election day. About 4% reported that the coercion was done by party agents, while another 4% said it came from friends and family.
A further 4% reported that it happened while they were queuing. This percentage comprises 2% of party agents, 1% friends and family and 1% by other voters.
Furthermore, another 2% said it happened by party agents (1%) and family and friends (1%). View the full ESS results report here.
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Election officials were barely mentioned as a source of electoral coercion, the HSRC said.
‘Of those reporting coercion, 73% reported it had no bearing on who they actually voted for on election day, but 25% said it did and 2% uncertain,’ said Dr Benjamin Roberts of the HSRC.
‘So, the 25% that said it did – translates to 3% of the voting public. It is concerning,’ he added, noting that this percentage had increased since the 2016 local government elections.
‘It particularly jumped higher in 2019 and 2024. So, it is something that we really have to watch out for.’ He added that it typically occurred before elections in households and in communities.
‘But it is something that we do need to worry about, because it is translating into 3% of change, relative to what they might have voted for on election day.’
Conversely, 92% of respondents stated that the elections were ‘free and fair’, and they positively rated the conduct of voting station officials.
The survey also showed that confidence in the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) remained high despite declining over the past decade in line with general trust in public institutions.
Most respondents also indicated that they felt safe to cast their ballot in secrecy and that the IEC adequately considered the needs of vulnerable groups, such as those of elderly people and people with disabilities.
A further 11% of respondents spent more than an hour in queues however, compared to just 2% in 2019. This group also indicated that they were less confident that their votes would be counted properly and were more in favour of electronic voting.
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