With just a few hours left before voting stations across the country open for South Africa’s sixth democratic elections, Caxton Local Media delves into the results of our pre-election readers polls.

Between March and now, Caxton has published eight polls covering several topics aimed at both voters and non-voters.

While the polls reflect the opinions of some of our readers only and do not represent national sentiment, the results provide thought-provoking insights into what our community thinks.

Question one: On what basis do you assess a political party/independent candidate? In other words, how do you decide who to vote for?

Most respondents voted that their decision of who to vote for in this year’s elections will be based on a vote for change as they are unhappy with the current state of the country.

Question two: What are your thoughts on coalition governments?

Most respondents said they feel that achieving consensus in coalition governments can be slow and lead to instability.

Question three: What two issues in SA most need to be addressed by the new government?

Corruption, poverty, and hunger are the two issues that need to be addressed by the newly elected government, believe most respondents.

Question four: How do you know if a social media post or WhatsApp message is fake or factual?

The poll results indicate that once readers see ‘wow’ information, they look for reports by reputable new sites before they share and believe it.

Question five: Should government introduce more policies to close the gap between the extremely rich and the poor?

The fifth poll question was contentious. Most votes were for ‘yes, but only if they do not harm economic growth or individual freedom’, followed closely by ‘no, focusing on individual responsibility is more important’.

Question six: If you have chosen not to vote, what are your reasons?

Question six targeted non-voters to establish why they don’t vote. The majority voted ‘elected politicians do nothing for the people; power always corrupts’ as the reason why they will not make their mark tomorrow.

Question seven: Why did you decide to vote?

In the second-last poll question, those heading to the polls were asked why they felt strongly about voting. In an equal share of the votes, readers said they would make their mark because they ‘want change in South Africa’ and ‘voting is essential to hold elected officials accountable’.

Question eight: If you choose not to exercise your democratic right to vote, do you have the right to complain about government decisions or its performance?

A common phrase during elections is ‘if you do not vote, you cannot complain’, but is this sentiment shared by everyone? The final poll question revealed that respondents agree with this sentiment, as most voted ‘no, if you do not vote, you lose the right to criticise the government’.