'More than half a million ballot papers were spoiled,' says IEC

Cape Town - Out of 31 190 090 votes cast in our local elections, 597 826 were spoiled votes. The statistics released by the IEC indicate that spoiled votes accounted for 1.93% of the vote total.

While statistics released by the IEC show that the overall number of spoiled ballot papers nationally declined by over 100 000 from the elections held five years ago, the number of spoiled votes remain exceptionally high.

Professor of Political Science at the University of Stellenbosch, Amanda Gouws, said that the percentage of spoiled ballots could be seen as a form of ongoing protest combined with an increase in voter illiteracy.

Gouws said that in the past, she worked in both national and provincial elections, and at the time, voter training workshops to educate citizens on how to vote were regularly held. She added that voter training is an essential task that should be run by the IEC before every election.

Director at the School of Public Leadership, Dr Zwelinzima Ndevu, said: “It is people saying that in their respective ward or area, the councillor is not someone capable of delivering services they need and that they have no control over who will stand. This form of protest is, however, ill-informed and ineffective.”

Ndevu said that by spoiling a ballot, one has exercised their right incorrectly and indicates that people have run out of options on how to vent their frustration. It also shows a lack of understanding of how the democratic system works.

Ndevu added that the IEC had not done enough to educate citizens on the significance of voting. He said that the IEC local offices should be at the forefront of voter education programmes aimed at educating voters on their rights, the voting process and the importance of elections.

The Institute for Futures Research director, Dr Morne Mostert, said that statistics indicate a mindset shift in voters.

“What we have seen is certainly a mindset shift among voters. When we look at voters that were not spoiled and how they’ve cast their votes, it is clear that they have made different decisions. We have also seen a mindset shift in voters that spoil ballots, which indicates that this form of protest has declined.”

Mostert said that while literacy levels in South Africa remain low, it would be an insult for the assumption to be made that the literacy levels are so low that people are unable to vote.

He said that the mindset of the South African voters is more dynamic than predicted, which is an exciting aspect for a maturing democracy because it indicates that the mindset of the average citizen is not as fixed as expected.

Weekend Argus