A woman votes in Nkandla. (Alfonso Nkunjana/News24)
- A Human Sciences Research Council study found that 3% of voters had been coerced into voting to support a political party.
- However, the vast majority of respondents said the election was free and fair.
- To keep track of the latest results, Election map.
An election satisfaction survey conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council found that 3% of voters were forced to change their vote in Wednesday's election.
However, an overwhelming majority of voters considered the election to have been free and fair.
The HSRC interviewed 13,155 respondents from a sample of 300 polling stations across the country, with a margin of error of less than 1%.
On Friday, the HSRC released its findings to the media at the National Results Operations Centre.
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Of the voters interviewed, 12% reported having been coerced into voting for a particular party or candidate.
Nine percent of people found themselves in this situation before Election Day, 4% reported being coerced by a political party agent, and a further 4% by a friend or family member.
A further 4% said it happened while they were waiting in line: 2% by a party representative, 1% by a friend or family member and 1% by another voter.
A further 2% said they heard about it from a political party representative, 1% from a family member or friend and 1% from a political party representative.
According to the HSRC, electoral officials were rarely cited as a source of electoral coercion.
(Graphic: Charlene Rood/News24)
“Among those who reported experiencing coercion, 73% said it had no effect on who they actually voted for on Election Day, while 25% said it had an effect and 2% were unsure.
“The 25% who said so represent 3% of voters,” said Dr Benjamin Roberts of the HSRC.
“This is alarming,” Roberts added, noting that it has increased over time, particularly since the 2016 local elections.
“There was a particular spike in 2019 and 2024. So, this is something we really need to be careful of.”
He said such acts mostly take place in homes and communities ahead of elections.
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“But this is something we have to worry about because it amounts to a 3% change compared to what they might have voted for on Election Day,” Roberts added.
According to the HSRC results, 92% of voters believed the election was free and fair and evaluated the polling station officials positively.
Furthermore, trust in the South African Electoral Commission (IEC) remains high, despite a decline over the past decade, as does trust in public institutions generally.
IEC chair Mosotho Moyepiya and commissioner Nomsa Masuku. The Human Sciences Research Council released a voter survey which concluded the election was free and fair. (Jan Gerber/News24)
Nearly all voters felt it was safe to vote in secret, and the majority felt that the IEC took the needs of vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and people with disabilities, into full consideration.
Wednesday's vote was marked by long lines.
It is therefore not surprising that the HSRC concluded that the amount of time voters spend queuing has increased: its survey found that 11% of respondents spent more than an hour in queues, a significant increase from 2% in 2019.
They also found that many people spent long hours waiting in line, were unsure whether their vote would be properly counted, and supported electronic voting.
