EVALUATING the SOUTH AFRICAN ELECTIONS 2019

​A record number of 48 political parties registered candidates for the 2019 Parliamentary Elections. This was 19 more parties than contested the 2014 National Elections. Some of these parties opted to contest only in the provincial elections.
 
Most South Africans Did Not Vote
Although South Africa has a population of over 59 million, only 26,736,803 were registered voters as of 19 April 2018. Roughly 9.3 million registered voters did not turn up to vote in this election. There is another 9 million South Africans who are of voting age, who did not register to vote. That is over 18 million people who chose not to participate in the electoral process.
 
Most Eligible Citizens Fail to Register or Vote
In the 1994 elections, 19,533,000 votes were cast. More than at any elections since. Even though South Africa’s population has more than doubled since 1994, the number of votes cast has consistently been lower. 

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