South Africans ask Google who to vote for and if the EFF will win

Who to vote for was one of the top election-related questions South Africans asked on Google in the week leading up to Wednesday’s general election.

According to research by Google, the question asked most was whether election day was a public holiday. In the second spot was when election day actually is.

The third most frequently asked election-related question was where to go and vote, followed by who to vote for.

According to Google, the trend in election related questions searched for indicates that South Africans are gearing up to make their electoral mark at the correct location.

Will the EFF win?

The 5th most frequent question was whether the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) would win the election, followed by the question “who will win the election?”

Other questions among the top 15 most searched for election-related questions included when the first democratic election was held in SA; how many parties would be contesting the 2019 election; whether the ANC would win the election; and when the last election took place.

Despite voter registration already having closed, it seems many South Africans still asked Google whether they could still register.

Other top-15 questions included what democracy is and how many parties to vote for.

The Google data indicated that the top searched political party in SA last week was the ANC, followed by the EFF, DA, Black First Land First, the Freedom Front Plus, ACDP and Good.

The top-10 most searched for political parties list was rounded off by the IFP as 8th most searched for on Google, followed by the Congress of the People (COPE) and the African Transformation Movement.

Top candidates

As for the most searched for candidate in SA last week, EFF leader Julius Malema came out tops, followed by President Cyril Ramaphosa and the DA’s Mmusi Maimane.

President of the African Transformation Movement Vuyo Zungula was the fourth-most Googled candidate, followed by the IFP’s Mangosuthu Buthelezi and Good party leader Patricia de Lille.

The seventh-most searched candidate was Black First Land First president Andile Mngxitama, followed by African Content Movement (ACM) leader Hlaudi Motsoeneng; United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa and Mosiuoa Lekota of COPE.

It seems people in Durban North did the most election-related searches on Google in the week leading up to the election; followed by people in Randburg, Stellenbosch, Sandton, Centurion, Umhlanga, Port Elizabeth, Polokwane, Johannesburg North and Midrand.

Find everything you need to know about the 2019 National and Provincial Government Elections at our News24 Elections site, including the latest news and detailed, interactive maps for how South Africa has voted over the past 3 elections. Make sure your News24 app is updated to access all our elections coverage in one place.