With only 5 days before South Africans head to the polls, a political analyst says there is widespread disillusionment among voters, who are frustrated with political leaders.

More than 27 million citizens are registered to vote, making it the highest number of registered voters in history. UWC Political Studies Associate Professor Cherrel Africa says despite this, voter participation has declined dramatically:

“When we consider the decline in voter participation, we must acknowledge the legitimate frustration of people in South Africa. People are living in difficult and sometimes untenable situations. Surveys consistently indicate high levels of dissatisfaction with government performance,” said Africa.

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3,3 million people have signed up to vote in the Western Cape. The provinces with the most registered voters are Gauteng with 6.5 million, and KwaZulu-Natal with 5,7 million people.

In every single age group, women are the majority.

Africa has encouraged people to make their mark on 29 May.

“Despite widespread disillusionment with political leaders, it’s still very important to vote because elections and your vote is the basis for selecting our decision makers,” added Africa.