Despite an increase in the number of registered voters, fewer people cast their vote this year than in 2017.
In 2017, there were 341,856 registered voters, compared to the 355,075 registered this time round.
However, while in 2017 there were 314,696 people who actually cast their vote, the approximates issued by the Electoral Commission last night show that 303,575 cast their vote in this election, which is 11,121 fewer votes than in 2017.
This is indicative of voter apathy. In addition, this was the first general election that 16 and 17-year-olds were able to vote, so it is even more surprising that the numbers are down.
In terms of districts, the biggest reduction in votes cast when compared to 2017 was actually on district 1.
In 2017, 24,452 votes were cast in district 1, whereas this year 22,124 votes were cast. The PL won district 1 in 2017 with 57.2% of the votes cast. But when looking at this reduction, one must keep in mind the reduction in registered voters when comparing the 2017 and 2022. This district was the only one that actually saw a smaller number of registered voters this year when compared to 2017 (736 fewer registered voters), which also needs to be taken into consideration.
The district with the second largest reduction in voters is district 10. In 2017, 23,585 votes were cast in this district, whereas this year 21,848 votes were cast. This means that 1,737 fewer votes were cast this year. District 10 is a PN stronghold, which the party won by 60.3% of the vote in 2017. The number of registered voters in this district rose by 317 since 2017.
The district with the largest increase in registered voters was district 6, which saw an increase of 2,437 registered voters. But the number of votes cast in this district rose by just 543.
District comparison:
District 1
2022
Registered voters: 25,862
Votes cast: 22,124
2017
Registered voters: 26,598
Votes cast: 24,452
Change:
Registered voters: -736
Votes cast: -2,328
District 2
2022
Registered voters: 26,940
Votes cast: 23,475
2017
Registered voters: 26,396
Votes cast: 24,635
Change
Registered voters: 544
Votes cast: -1,160
District 3
2022
Registered voters: 27,566
Votes cast: 24,216
2017
Registered voters: 25,404
Votes cast: 23,647
Change
Registered voters: 2,162
Votes cast: 569
District 4
2022
Registered voters: 26,688
Votes cast: 23,184
2017
Registered voters: 26,095
Votes cast: 24,488
Change
Registered voters: 593
Votes cast: -1,304
District 5
2022
Registered voters: 27,056
Votes cast: 23,590
2017
Registered voters: 25,295
Votes cast: 23,576
Change
Registered voters: 1,761
Votes cast: 14
District 6
2022
Registered voters: 27,321
Votes cast: 23,865
2017
Registered voters: 24,884
Votes cast: 23,322
Change
Registered voters: 2,437
Votes cast: 543
District 7
2022
Registered voters: 27,923
Votes cast: 24,577
2017
Registered voters: 27,106
Votes cast: 25,276
Change
Registered voters: 817
Votes cast: -699
District 8
2022
Registered voters: 26,360
Votes cast: 22,747
2017
Registered voters: 25,982
Votes cast: 24,082
Change
Registered voters: 378
Votes cast: -1,335
District 9
2022
Registered voters: 26,007
Votes cast: 21,936
2017
Registered voters: 25,636
Votes cast: 23,399
Change
Registered voters: 371
Votes cast: -1,463
District 10
2022
Registered voters: 26,777
Votes cast: 21,848
2017
Registered voters: 26,460
Votes cast: 23,585
Change
Registered voters: 317
Votes cast: -1,737
District 11
2022
Registered voters: 27,401
Votes cast: 23,233
2017
Registered voters: 26,244
Votes cast: 24,198
Change
Registered voters: 1,157
Votes cast: -965
District 12
2022
Registered voters: 28,249
Votes cast: 22,142
2017
Registered voters: 27,076
Votes cast: 23,779
Change
Registered voters: 1,173
Votes cast: -1,637
District 13
2022
Registered voters: 30,925
Votes cast: 26,638
2017
Registered voters: 28,680
Votes cast: 26,257
Change
Registered voters: 2,245
Votes cast: 381