South Africa is more likely than ever to have a coalition government following next year’s elections, a survey conducted on behalf of The Brenthurst Foundation has found.
The Johannesburg-based policy think tank said the ruling ANC’s support dropped from 48 per cent in November 2022 to just 41per cent this month, with voters citing joblessness, corruption, load shedding and crime as the country’s largest problems.
The survey found that 57 per cent of voters cited ‘The ANC government of the last three decades’ as the principal cause of South Africa’s problems.
This is up from 51 per cent who blamed the ANC a year ago.
The survey found that the Multi-Party Coalition (MPC), which combines the votes of the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), ActionSA, FF+ and the United Independent Movement, would get 36 per cent of the vote, ‘ushering in an era of fierce political competition’.
With the launch of the MPC, 24 per cent of voters said this made them more likely to support an opposition party.
‘This suggests there may be significant voter support upside in greater name recognition for the MPC and greater clarity on its policy focus and narrative,’ the survey said.
The poll was conducted through in-depth interviews with a random sample of 1,500 voters in October 2023.
‘The survey showed a marked decline in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s favourability rating from 48 per cent last year to 42 per cent this year.
‘Those rating him unfavourable rose from 32 per cent a year ago to 40 per cent,’ the survey showed, adding: ‘The vast majority of respondents (74 per cent) would be happy to see a coalition of parties govern South Africa.’
According to the survey, 40 per cent of South Africans believe that association with the West and other democracies would benefit the country’s economy while 28 per cent called into question South Africa’s membership of BRICS.
‘Rising support for the EFF [Economic Freedom Fighters] – up from 11 per cent a year ago to 17 per cent – and declining support for the ANC portends a greater possibility of an EFF-ANC coalition, raising questions for the moderate centre about its political options,’ the survey said.
