Institute of election management says S. African electorate moving away from political loyalties
The institute said voting decisions are now more closely tied to the realities voters face.
Anelitha Fandese
Mponegele Primary School in Polokwane voting station LGE 2026. Picture: Simphiwe Nkosi/EWN
Simphiwe Nkosi/EWN
The Institute of Election Management Services in Africa said voters are increasingly moving away from the political loyalties that defined South Africa's first democratic elections.
The institute said voting decisions are now more closely tied to the realities voters face.
Executive Chairman Terry Tselane said the euphoria of 1994 has given way to a more discerning electorate, one that wants political parties to respond to its everyday challenges.
He said parties that fail to adapt to these changing expectations risk becoming disconnected from the people they seek to represent.
Tselane also points to South Africa's increasingly younger voting population, warning that young people who feel excluded from political parties' plans and priorities may choose not to participate in elections.
Tselane said,
"So, what it means is that political parties and the IEC have got to begin to engage in platforms where young people can be found. They must also speak the language the people understand. And I'm not talking about just in terms of how they speak, but whether they're addressing the issues that affect them."