Lawmakers should consider mandatory voting in SA: Analyst

Lawmakers can consider making voting mandatory for all eligible voters to ensure greater participation in South Africa’s electoral democracy.

That is the view of political analyst Vusi Gumbi.

While approximately 42 million people that are eligible to vote in South Africa, just over 29 million are registered voters, of these, only about 15 million turned up to vote.

Gumbi says Parliament can spearhead interventions to increase voter participation.

“There’s nothing stopping us from going to Parliament and making it mandatory for everyone who is maybe 18 and above to go and vote, right? However, it depends on whether or not our elected representatives in the National Assembly have the political appetite to make it happen. Remember, again, if you make voting mandatory, there is no guarantee that you know how people are going to vote. The idea of making voting mandatory, especially in a small democracy like ours, which is 32 years old, may promote the fluidity of the South African voter, right? The local government elections of 2026 have shown us one thing: South Africans are unwilling to give blind loyalty to one political party. Now, what happens if you make voting mandatory?”

Approximately 14.3 million people out of the 29.2 million people who are registered to vote did not cast their ballot in last week’s municipal polls.

Although the national voter turnout for these elections was 52%, representing an increase of 6.1 percentage points from the 45.9% turnout recorded in the 2021 local government elections, there is a huge gap in the country’s electoral participation.

Commentators attribute voter apathy to a disconnect between voters and politicians and democracy democratic backsliding – a phenomenon that refers to why citizens support, enable, or fail to stop the gradual erosion of democratic norms and institutions by elected leaders.

Gumbi spells out the implications of low voter turnout.

“That’s the unfortunate thing about democracy. Even if it was two million people who showed up at the polls, it means that those people get to decide the fate of over 60 million people in the population. And that’s, I think, what is very important to emphasise: the ballot is the best form of protest. The ballot is the best form of affirmation. Understanding that it also does not start and end with the ballot, what are some of the mechanisms in between ballots that resident citizens have at their disposal to hold elected leaders accountable?”

VIDEO | Political analyst Vusi Gumbi says voting is the best form of protest:

-Report by Busi Chimombe