South African Election Satisfaction Survey (ESS) 2009: Observers - All provinces

Description: This data set contains responses of election observers in the 2009 National elections. Topics covered in the questionnaire are: voting station accessibility, voting building or structure conditions, security at the voting stations, weather conditions on the voting day, political party activities at the voting station, political party posters at the voting station, disturbances inside this voting station, complaint lodged or expressed dissatisfaction at the voting station, election observer's biographical details. The data set for dissemination contains 62 variables and 352 cases.

Abstract: The objective of the 2009 Observers Election Satisfaction Survey (ESS) was to determine opinions and perceptions of Observers on Election Day. The main intention of the survey was to determine if elections were free and fair. A further aim of the study was to assess the operational efficiency of the Electoral Commission in managing the 2009 National elections. Four hundred voting stations throughout South Africa were selected using complex sample design. An election observer was randomly and interviewed at each of the 400 voting stations. However, many of the voting stations were not visited by election observers and interviews could not be conducted at these voting stations. At other stations more than one election observer were found and in such cases all were interviewed where possible. The study method comprised a brief (20-minute) face-to-face interview. The presence of election observers at voting stations on an Election Day has become a commonplace mode of assessing voting procedures and the general freeness and fairness of elections. Election observers often pay attention to the conditions of voting station facilities as well as the occurrence of irregularities, disruptions and complaints. The election observer survey aimed to encourage observers to evaluate, amongst other things, aspects of the voting station experience, the accessibility of voting stations, the incidence of disturbances, the freeness and fairness of the electoral process and the conduct of IEC officials. Election observers interviewed in the satisfaction survey provided valuable perspectives and assessments of the elections. Election observers were interviewed to determine if they were of the opinion that the elections were free and fair and which aspect of the elections were not. The HSRC together with the IEC developed the observer questionnaire which measured perception of IEC officials’ competence, and perception of the freeness and fairness of the election.