The voter turnout in this election is the lowest in South Africa‘s history, a think-tank says.
It stands at nearly 59% with 99% of votes tallied so far.
This may surprise some who saw the long queues on election day, which saw thousands queueing late into the night to cast their ballots.
The low turnout is partly linked to the voter apathy in ANC strongholds and an extra vote, which made it complicated for people to vote, Gabriel Makin, an associate at the Social Research Foundation, told the BBC’s Weekend programme on the World Service.
For the first time, independent candidates were allowed to run in the elections, which meant voters were issued with three ballot papers instead of two.
Voter turnout in the 2019 national elections was 66%.
South Africa’s voter turnout has been in constant decline since the 2009 election, according to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).