In South Africa’s metro elections, turnout in 2021 is widely described as a record low, with fewer than half of registered voters casting ballots across most metropolitan municipalities. Both outlets report that many eligible voters do not participate, leading to concerns about how representative local results are.
The two articles also point to a second-order issue: whether turnout will improve in the next election cycle. News24 says that in most metro councils, the proportion of registered voters voting in 2021 is even lower than in prior elections, reinforcing the downward trend. Moneyweb frames the question as whether the 2021 pattern will persist, given the scale of voter absence and the possibility that future elections could see different levels of engagement.
