A recent poll indicates that support for South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC), which has been in power since 1994, has fallen below 50 percent in anticipation of the upcoming general elections next year.
The party formerly headed by Nelson Mandela is projected to secure approximately 45 percent of the vote in the upcoming elections, while the leading opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), is expected to garner around 31 percent, as per a survey conducted by the Social Research Foundation (SRF).
Such an outcome could potentially lead to the ruling party losing its majority in parliament.
“The data reveals that ANC support levels appear to have slipped somewhat,” SRF said in a report.
Support for the ANC has declined from 52 percent in March, as indicated by the poll, which was based on interviews with over 1,400 registered voters.
The poll aimed to be geographically and demographically representative and was conducted in October.
Backing of the DA has risen from 24 percent over the same period.
If the elections were to be held tomorrow, the South African think-tank’s survey suggests that South Africa’s third-largest party, the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), would secure approximately 9 percent of the vote.
Earlier this week, South Africa’s electoral commission announced that the election is scheduled to take place between May and August next year.
The image of the ANC has been marred by corruption, cronyism, and a lackluster economic performance, leading to fractures within the party.
The party has consistently secured at least 50 percent of the vote in every national election since the establishment of democracy three decades ago.
However, party membership has seen a decline of over 30 percent in the past five years, as indicated by an organizational report presented at the party’s conference in December.
In July, the DA, a liberal party, declared a coalition with six smaller groups with the goal of unseating the ANC from power.
