Fewer than two of every three registered voters showed up on Wednesday
Analysts say the decline in turnout may be an indication that the health of SA’s democracy is deteriorating
With only 65.36% of registered voters making the trip to the polls to vote this week, the 2019 election is set to record the lowest ever turnout in SA’s democratic history. Although still high by international standards — in many established democracies only about 60% of registered voters turn out at election time — analysts say that the decline in the turnout may be an indication that the health of SA’s democracy is deteriorating. While a small decline in turn out had been expected by both parties and analysts, the eight percentage point drop since the last national election five years ago is much larger than anticipated.
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