Cape Town — A new poll has shown that support for the African National Congress (ANC) has grown in recent weeks, showing promising signs for the ruling party ahead of next week’s elections.
Many analysts have suspected that the ANC would fall below 50% at the upcoming elections but if the ruling party were to secure close to 50% of votes, it would leave them firmly in control of the country.
According to the latest poll from the Social Research Foundation (SRF), support for the ANC now stands at 44.8% as of Friday 17 May (the latest day data was available). This is an increase from the previous figure of 37.7% just one month earlier, TimesLIVE reported.
Previous polls conducted by the Brenthurst Foundation in March and Ipsos in April showed that support for the ruling party was at 39% and 40.2% respectively.
The Social Research Foundation (#SRF) daily polling seems improbable.
How does the #ANC gain 7% from 38 to 45 in the midst of endless bad news?
The most plausible explanation is the implosion of #MK, which is in full self-destruction mode. pic.twitter.com/Erj7DxcUNo
— Colonel (Ret) Chris Wyatt (@wmwchris) May 18, 2024
Political analysts have seen the ANC’s support increase in the weeks leading up to previous votes, attributing the trend to its far-reaching grassroots campaign in which thousands of volunteers go door-to-door and its leaders tour the country touting the party’s record.
The ANC’s main opposition parties remain the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Malema-led Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) but Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party have also been identified as a party to take votes away from the ruling party, especially in KZN.
According to an eNCA poll, support for the ANC currently stands at 43.4%, a 2% increase from the previous month, while the DA and MK are in 2nd and 3rd with 18.6% and 14.1% respectively. The EFF was in 4th place with 11.4%. Political analyst, TK Pooe, said the party’s support usually grows closer to the elections.
“It’s not much of a surprise [to see the ANC grow]. On the ANC, the ANC and EFF do kind of share similar voting grouping with the MK. The numbers for the ANC are probably a big higher due to numbers from other polls,” Pooe said.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
