The Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa has heard that South Africa, which is according to the world happiness index in its most wretched phase since the onset of democracy, has followed this pattern exactly.

Independent political analyst Michael O’Donovan says the phenomenon of unhappy countries seeking populist solutions is world wide.

He says South Africa has had a pronounced drop in happiness levels over  the past ten years.

“The only other country that has had a similar drop in happiness levels in the United States and that explains the election of President Donald Trump,” he says

O’Donovan says the poor turnout of young voters was not a result of apathy but of disillusionment  among people who do to believe that voting will have no impact on their lives.

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