Poll: ANC support plummets as DA closes gap

South Africa is moving deeper into an era of coalition politics, with no single political party commanding majority support as voters, increasingly disillusioned over service delivery, head to the polls for the November 4 local government elections.

A new survey by Ipsos found that the African National Congress (ANC) is still South Africa’s largest political party, but its support has fallen.

(EFF) garnered 10%.

ActionSA and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) each attracted 4%, while the Patriotic Alliance (PA) received 2%. The remaining parties collectively accounted for 7%.

The survey suggests that most metropolitan municipalities could require coalition arrangements.

In Johannesburg, the DA recorded 30% support against the ANC’s 27%, while the MK Party received 12% and ActionSA 11%. In Tshwane, the DA was three percentage points ahead of the ANC. In Ekurhuleni, the ANC is ahead of the DA, although the gap between them is relatively narrow.

The DA continued to attract just over half of voter support in Cape Town (51%), followed by the ANC (24%) and EFF (10%).

The MK Party remains the largest party in eThekwini by a considerable margin (47%), despite an eight-percentage-point decline in its support. It is trailed by the DA (21%) and ANC (10%).

In Nelson Mandela Bay, the ANC and DA are also running very close, with Ipsos describing the contest as highly competitive.

In Buffalo City, the ANC appears likely to remain the largest party, although its support may not be sufficient to secure an outright majority.

Ipsos cautioned that the findings should not be interpreted as predictions of the country.