It has emerged that voter turnout in the Northern Cape dropped by a massive 14 percentage points in the local government elections amid discontent about joblessness and poor governance. In 2016, 61 percent of the voters cast their ballots in comparison to 47 percent who voted on Monday. 623 000 people were registered to vote in the 2021 elections.
Some political parties which saw a decline in their support bases, the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA), have blamed COVID-19 and low voter turnout for their misfortunes.
“For me, if you look at the NC in particular it’s a mining town. Its economy is driven by mine and agriculture and all that. But the problem of unemployment and other issues such as crime, but also if you look at the performance of municipalities in the Northern Cape, it’s quite appalling. But also look at the Auditor General’s report findings about municipalities, how they manage their finances and it’s all these issues that build up and creates a situation of hopelessness in a system that is supposed to be much more closer to the people,” says political analyst Professor Sethulego Matebesi.
VIDEO: LGE 2021 – Vote counting update from the Northern Cape
