Democracy decline: Only 17% of S Africans satisfied with democratic system – HSRC

Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) senior researcher Dr Ngqapheli Mchunu revealed a sharp decline in South Africans' demand for democracy, dropping from 67% in the mid-2000s to 36% in 2025/2026.

Speaking during a Defend Our Democracy webinar, he said the HSRC election satisfaction survey highlighted a rising fatalism and an increased willingness to embrace non-democratic, "strong man" alternatives, with one in four citizens now open to such options.

He said regional disparities exist, with democratic preference lowest in Limpopo at 28%, compared with higher levels in the Western Cape at 46%.

Mchunu pointed out that public satisfaction with South African democracy has experienced a significant decline, with citizens who believes it works dropping from 63% in 2004 to 17% by 2025.

This growing cynicism, he said, is marked by a 68% dissatisfaction rate and is largely attributed to a perceived lack of accountability and poor communication from political leadership, with Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal recording the sharpest declines.

Mchunu warned of a systemic "trust deficit" across South Africa's political and state institutions, highlighting a significant decline in public confidence.

He noted that this trend is not isolated to one body but is reflected across national and local governments.

Mchunu tracked a long-term downward trajectory in institutional trust, pointing out that in 2024 trust in national government stood at about 69%.

He explained that by 2024, general positive sentiment toward government institutions had declined to as low as 13%, while trust in local government was measured at 55% in 2004.

By 2025, he said this had dropped sharply, with only about 18% of citizens indicating they still trust local authorities.

He explained that a particularly sharp decline has been observed in the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), noting that between 2007 and 2009, trust in the IEC was high, nearly reaching three-quarters of the population at 74%.

He noted recent research, which he said indicated that trust has fallen to about 32%.

"While trust has declined nationally, provinces like KwaZulu-Natal have seen significant drops, though they still show relatively higher trust levels compared to provinces such as Mpumalanga and the North West," he explained.

Mchunu attributed this erosion of trust to systemic corruption, inefficiency and service delivery, and accountability gaps.

Mchunu warned that this deficit risks creating an "illegitimate state" where citizens no longer endorse or comply with state initiatives, ultimately threatening the stability pf the country's democracy.

He pointed to a sharp decline in public satisfaction with the IEC, with approval ratings falling from 43% in 2010 to 20% by 2025.

He said the findings show a direct correlation between trust levels and voter behaviour, where regular voters are far more likely to be satisfied (69%) compared with those who do not vote (20%).

Mchunu said the survey revealed high voter approval for the 2024 national and provincial elections, with over 80% of participants satisfied with the voting process and roughly 90% finding IEC staff helpful.

"While trust in the IEC remained high, the survey noted that some participants, including non-voters, expressed lower confidence regarding the accuracy of vote counting and identified a need for improved ballot paper designs," he explained.