Ipsos poll: ANC, EFF losing support as Zuma-backed MK party gains ground

As South Africa gears up for elections, the ruling African National Congress faces a dwindling support base, with the Economic Freedom Fighters losing ground to a new contender backed by former President Jacob Zuma. Ipsos' latest poll reveals ANC's slipping support at 40.2%, while Zuma's uMkhonto weSizwe Party gains traction at 8.4%. Amidst market speculations, the Democratic Alliance sees a slight uptick in backing. Zuma's resurgence reshapes the political landscape, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..By S'thembile Cele.Voter support for South Africa's ruling African National Congress slipped further before next month's election, a new opinion poll showed, with the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters leaking votes to a new party backed by former President Jacob Zuma. .The ANC has the support of 40.2% of voters, pollster Ipsos said in a report released on Friday. That compares with 40.5% in a survey published on Feb. 6, and 43% in October. In the last election in 2019, the ANC garnered 57.5% of the vote..Read more: Rand dives amidst political turmoil: ANC support dives, Zuma's MK party rises."The ANC, long the dominant force in the country's politics, is struggling to impress voters," Ipsos said in a statement. "Nationally, only 38% believe that the ANC will live up to their election promises.".Support for the main opposition Democratic Alliance, which espouses pro-business economic policies, strengthened slightly to 21.9%, from 20.5% in February, the poll showed..The rand gained as much as 1.6% after the poll was published, as investors bet it signals a market-friendly coalition will emerge from next month's election. It traded 1.1% stronger at 18.8326 per dollar by 5:23 p.m. in Johannesburg..The latest poll coincided with results from 11 by-elections across South Africa this week in which the ANC retained three seats and gained one, as did the Democratic Alliance..The Ipsos poll showed that the newly formed uMkhonto weSizwe Party backed by Zuma has the support of 8.4% of voters. That compares with 11.5% for the EFF, down from 19.6% in February..The survey adds to other recent studies that show Zuma's party has gained support rapidly since it was launched in December. Those polls — conducted by the Social Research Foundation and the Brenthurst Foundation/SABI — estimated Zuma's so-called MKP would garner 13% of the vote..Zuma is drawing support mainly in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal, the country's second-most populous region, Ipsos said..Read more: Judges in MK Party/Zuma case against IEC, 'took the soft option' – Prof Theo Venter."The emergence of MK has halted the advances made by the EFF in recent years, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, with some former EFF supporters migrating to the new party," it said..The poll notes that uncertainty about who to vote for is is highest in KwaZulu-Natal, where a fifth of voters remain undecided..Ipsos surveyed 2,545 registered voters in face-to-face interviews over a period of a month, starting March 9 and continuing until April 15. Its methodology included "multi-stage stratified random selection distributed interviews" in all areas of the country, including "deep" rural areas..The sample error for the survey was a maximum of plus or minus 1.9%..Read also:.ANC sees IFP as top rival, shrugs off Zuma's partySRF polls show that Zuma-backed party could be the straw to break the ANC's backMK party: Kremlin's Spear; Ramaphosa's "unlawful" Putin deal freed Zuma – André Pienaar.© 2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Ipsos poll: ANC, EFF losing support as Zuma-backed MK party gains ground

Related Stories

The loudest room in South African finance: JSE floor traders reunite 30 years after the screen took over

BizNews Power Lunch: Markets don't reward good results — they reward surprises

Kenneth Rogoff on BizNews: AI gold rush has winners and losers — Africa not in the running

Hartford: The struggle generation that built non-racial SA — and the movement that betrayed it