Abstract:
The study was driven by the fact that there is a great proportion of registered voters
who do not vote in the elections. This will have negative impact on consolidating
democracy and expanding collective decision making through representation if not
taken care of. The main objective of the study was to analyze the determinants of
voting in Morogoro Municipality while the specific objectives were to assess the
knowledge and attitude of voters towards the elections in the study area, estimate
the minutes spent by voters going to and queuing at the polling stations, and
determine how political party adherence is related to voting. A cross- sectional
study design was employed. Data were collected in October and November 2010
during and immediately after the 2010 general elections through a questionnaire,
and a semi-structured interview guide, which were administered to a sample of 200
respondents. Data analysis was done using the Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS) computer software. The study findings showed that the overall
respondents’ attitude towards elections was unfavourable in the study area hence
voters’ participation in 2010 general elections was low. Using a chi- square test,
research findings revealed that the relationship between individuals’ levels of civic
education and their participation in voting was significant (χ 2 = 8.648, p = 0.003),
which means that those with higher education participated more than those with
lower education. In view of the above findings, it is concluded that in order to
increase participation in voting some basic democratic requirements have to be met.
These include civic education, timely and adequate information about elections, and
trust and transparency to electoral processes as well as free and fair elections. On
the basis of this conclusion, it is recommended that the electoral commission and
election candidates should address these issues to increase citizens’ participation in
elections.
