WHAT INFLUENCES THE SOUTH AFRICAN VOTER?

UNCLAS CAPE TOWN 000078 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SF PGOV KDEM SUBJECT: WHAT INFLUENCES THE SOUTH AFRICAN VOTER? ¶1. Summary: When South Africans go to the polls on April 22, they'll be weighing a host of factors that include their personal circumstances, social networks, and perceptions of government performance in order to help them make a decision. Cape Town Poloff and Econoff on March 19 attended two seminars that helped explain these factors, examining trends since the 1994 democratic transition, and determine which were most important, both nationally and in Western Cape specifically. Unsurprisingly, race emerged as a key factor in determining a party's support base in the three previous democratic elections, albeit in an indirect fashion by which race influences personal and social networks that influence party support. Age, economic status, government performance, and press coverage all have proven less influential than race in voting patterns. ¶2. That said, all experts noted that this election could very well display very different characteristics than the past three polls. Voter registration is higher than in 2004, and enthusiasm over this poll suggests that turnout also will be higher than the last poll. Many new registrants are under 30 -- a group about which there is no good data on political perceptions or likely voting trends -- while the number of independent black voters has been increasing. While race most likely will still be a key driver of political choice, the experts acknowledged that factors such as class, religion, ethnicity, and gender have not been sufficiently researched to gauge their impacts. Lastly, the emergence of the Congress of the People (COPE) opposition party could provide a political home to the growing number of voters disenchanted with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and the post-apartheid political system, although it's less clear, given the affinity many black voters have for the ANC, to what extent the party's lack of an effective organization will handicap it. ¶3. Cape Town officers attended a seminar sponsored by the Institute for Security Studies Corruption and Governance Center on voter trends in South Africa since 1994. The speakers were ISS researcher Collette Schulz-Herzenberg, who presented a detailed quantitative study of voter trends, and University of Cape Town professort Cherrel Africa, who presented on the role of media in influencing voter behavior. Econoff that evening went to another session hosted by the Institute for a Democratic Alternative in South Africa (IDASA) that focused more specifically on voter trends and influences in Western Cape province. Presenters were author Christi van der Westhuizen, University of Stellenbosch professor Amanda Gouws, and University of Cape Town lecturer Zweli Jolobe. -------------- A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS SINCE 1994 -------------- ¶4. Before looking at the factors, it's worth first examining the three election results since 1994, which have shown growing support for the ANC amid a steep decline in voter participation. ANC support has grown from 63 percent in 1994 to 66 percent in 1999 and 69 percent in 2004. However, this has been mirrored by a sharp decline in turnout in the past two polls, decreasing from 89 percent turnout in 1999 to 77 percent in 2004. On top of that, the percentage of eligible voters who even registered to vote declined from 81 percent in 1999 to 74 percent in 2004. So while ANC support in the 2004 appeared quite strong at 69 percent, the party's support represented just 39 percent of the total voting age population. That said, the combined opposition could only Qpopulation. That said, the combined opposition could only muster 17 percent of the voting age population; the other 44 percent stayed home. ¶5. Schulz-Herzenberg in particular chalked the decline up to voters decreasingly identifying with the political parties on offer. ANC partisans are still tremendously loyal to the ruling party, but whether due to dissatisfaction with the party's performance, alienation with the new party leadership, declining identification with the party's liberation struggle past, or other reasons, the ANC's core base of support is declining. These floating voters, however, have not seen any opposition parties as worthy of their votes; in a 2004 study, the Democratic Alliance was the only political party viewed by more than 30 percent of voters as inclusive of all South Africans, as opposed to the ANC's 70 percent. -------------- - RACE A KEY, ALBEIT COMPLEX, DRIVER OF BEHAVIOR -------------- - ¶6. Strictly speaking, race is a significant factor in determining how South Africans vote, but Schulz-Herzenberg noted that its influence is more subtle than one might think. She noted, for example, that South Africans do not practice straight "racial census" voting by which race is the only motivating factor. Rather, racial cues factor into such things as perceptions of inclusiveness and social networks. Black voters, for example, have generally perceived the Democratic Alliance (despite its best efforts) as a "white" party, the Independent Democrats as "colored," and the Inkatha Freedom Party and United Democratic Movement as only for Zulus and Xhosas respectively. ¶7. Schulz-Herzenberg focused extensively on the issue of how important personal social networks influenced voter behaviors. Social networks in South Africa tend to be very racially and linguistically homogenous, and it can be very difficult here for new parties to enter into the social political dialogue. The tendency toward reinforced groupthink is strong, and one that has reinforced ANC dominance in the past several elections. Those voters who tend not to agree with the group consensus tend to not vote rather than voting for -- or much less campaigning for -- another party. ¶8. Schulz-Herzenberg said her research -- which utilized survey data from nine national polls since 1994 -- suggested that government performance has heretofore had little influence on voter choices. Cherrel Africa's presentation on media influence in campaigns suggests that coverage of election campaigns -- both by the press and party publicity -- also have relatively little effect on voters. Her studies found that media outlets of all types tend to offer generally unbiased coverage of all major parties, and this objective coverage has not tended to influence voters one way or the other. Parties' generally banal campaigns also have had very little impact; Africa bemoaned the lack of creativity shown by parties of all stripes. -------------- ELECTION 2009 COULD PROVE QUITE DIFFERENT -------------- ¶9. When looking at the April 22 poll, all of the analysts at both seminars noted that electoral landscape has changed since 2004 -- and particularly since the formation of COPE last November. First and foremost, the trend toward voter apathy appears as if it will be interrupted in this poll. The number of eligible voters registering has increased to 77 percent, from the 74 percent in 2004, Meanwhile, the Independent Electoral Commission and others are expecting a jump in turnout to back over the 80 percent mark. Also of note is that 27 percent of eligible voters are under 30; 73 percent of voters in the last two registration periods (both of which happened after COPE's formation) were under 30. ¶10. There is little data suggesting how these young voters -- two-thirds of whom are black -- will vote. Apartheid is a distant memory for these voters, if a personal living memory at all, and these voters are likely to have far more nuanced conceptions of identity -- taking into account issues such as class, for instance -- than their parents. Their perceptions of government performance, or its influence on their vote, are unclear, but are less likely to be influenced by a sense of historical loyalty to the ANC (or other parties) than older generations. ¶11. While the analysts acknowledged that the ANC's split and the formation of COPE certainly appear to have captured voters' attentions, they were loath to try to pinpoint how such enthusiasm will translate at the polls. Jolobe emphasized that ANC success at the polls has long stemmed from its impeccable organization; COPE has not shown similar organizational capacity. Schulz-Herzenberg said that COPE certainly has the potential to be an alternative political home for independent voters, but that they also would have to Qhome for independent voters, but that they also would have to show voters that they are a viable alternative -- COPE's problems with campaign organization and fundraising are not helping it in that sense. ¶12. Also noted was the paucity of information on how other factors could impact this poll. Van der Westhuizen noted that little study has been made of gender and politics in South Africa, particularly given a majority of registered voters are female. She noted that what little research has been done has found little to suggest gender has much of a distinct role in voting patterns, although she opined that Jacob Zuma's rape allegations and "anti-woman" statements by ANC leaders Julius Malema and Tokyo Sexwale could damage the ANC among women voters. (Note: A recent survey of popular attitudes towards the traditional African practice of polygamy revealed that 85 percent of black women, more than any other group, oppose this practice and expressed the view that personal values of politicians influenced these women's judgements and potentially their votes. Pollsters self-consciously used Jacob Zuma's polygamy as a point of departure in this survey, revealing popular sentiment regarding this practice among political leaders. End Note) Others noted that there is a dearth of research on the influence of religious and traditional leaders on voters as well. ¶13. All of the experts at these seminars raised compelling points about how this election might play out, although they readily acknowledged that no one felt comfortable making predictions on the outcome, at least nationally. The IDASA panelists did, however, feel quite strongly that the ANC would lose Western Cape. Gouws noted than an October 2008 Markinor poll -- before COPE's formation -- gave the Democratic Alliance 42 percent support and the ANC just 26 percent. She believes COPE's emergence will largely pull from ANC support, effectively shutting the ANC out in the province. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶14. If anything, the experts' presentions show how difficult it is to accurately project how this election will turn out. Unlike more mature democracies such as in the United States and Europe, pre-election polling in South Africa is spotty and reliant on small samples, as good polling is too expensive for parties or media outlets. Many of the assumptions posited by the analysts -- the role of race, for example -- are likely to hold true for this poll, but observers are unlikely to understand how or if a realignment in voter identification is in the offing until after the poll. MAYBERRY