A vote of confidence: Election Satisfaction Survey (ESS) 2016

On 3rd of August 2016 the fifth local government election in contemporary South Africa took place and the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) was commissioned by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to conduct a survey on the day. The intention of this survey, called the Election Satisfaction Survey (ESS), was to establish the opinions and perceptions of voters and election observers on Election Day. The ultimate aim of the study was to determine if the electoral process during the 2016 local government elections were free and fair. A further aim of the study was to assess the operational efficiency of the IEC in managing the 2016 local government elections. The study was conducted among two groups of respondents, namely (i) South Africans who voted in the 2016 Elections and (ii) local and international elections observers. The target population for the voter component of the study was registered voters aged 18 years and older. The study also comprised of local and international election observers visiting the selected voting stations on Election Day.