The 2019 South African elections: incumbency and uncertainty

Nyenhuis, R. and Krönke, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8387-9193 (2019) The 2019 South African elections: incumbency and uncertainty. Journal of African Elections, 18 (2). pp. 112-133. ISSN 2415-5837

Abstract/Summary

The 2019 South African elections marked the country’s sixth iteration of free and fair electoral contests since its democratisation in 1994. Although the outcome gives the African National Congress (ANC) yet another five-year mandate, the party has not gone unchallenged at the polls. It registered its lowest national vote share since the transition, a major concern for the party of liberation. The most recent contest also demonstrates the resilience of the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), and the continued upward trajectory of its closest rival, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). In this article, we analyse available survey data on South Africans’ attitudes and offer some empirical answers to account for the election results. We argue that race continues to feature prominently in electoral decision-making but it does so in ways that deviate slightly from conventional wisdom. Further, we put forth an explanation that the parties’ leaders played a central role in shaping citizens’ voting behaviour, especially among their own partisan supporters.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/117583
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	No Reading authors. Back catalogue items Arts, Humanities and Social Science > School of Politics, Economics and International Relations > Politics and International Relations
Publisher	Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa
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