This week’s eNCA municipal election poll* shows the Democratic Alliance pulling ahead of the African National Congress in all three of the key municipalities that were measured:
- In Tshwane, 36% said they will vote DA and 27% said the ANC.
- In Nelson Mandela Bay, 37% will vote DA and 27% ANC.
- In Joburg, 32% of voters said they will choose the DA, and 31% chose the ANC.
- The EFF polled 9% in all three cities.
The results showed that no party is likely to take a majority in the 3 August polls, ushering in a new era of coalition governments in three major cities.
The outcome, however, still depends on those who say they are undecided or won’t say how they plan to vote – about 18% of the voters.
A second question on how people rate the party leaders showed ANC leader Jacob Zuma polling low, and DA leader Musi Maimane high. Voters rated Zuma 5,3 out of 10 in Tshwane, 5,8 in Nelson Mandela Bay and 5,8% in Joburg. Maimane scored 7,2 out of 10 in Tshwane, 7,6 in Nelson Mandela Bay and a lower 6,9 in Joburg.
EFF leader Julius Malema was rated at 5,7 out of 10 among Tshwane voters, slightly stronger at 5,9 in Nelson Mandela Bay, but plummeted to 5,4 in Gauteng – the only place where he was lower than Zuma.
Interestingly, other leaders who rated highly were Deputy President Cyril Ramphosa (6,3 – 6,5 in the three cities) and former AU chair Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (6,5 – 6,9), both of whom came in higher than Zuma, as was Finance Minister Pravin Gordan (7,2 – 7,4). Topping them all was Public Protector Thuli Madonsela (7,6 – 8,2).
The poll is conducted by the leading political pollsters, Ipsos, and is based on 1509 cellphone respondents across the three cities. Polling was done on Monday and Tuesday, so it is not clear what impact this week’s violence in Tshwane had on the count – though this will be explicitly addressed in next week’s poll.
Said eNCA Editor-in-Chief Anton Harber: “This result shows the value of us doing these polls, as we can track how the different parties’ campaigns are gaining or losing ground and how close and important this election is. Next week will be most interesting, when we will gauge how the Tshwane violence has affected the views of voters.”
The poll is conducted weekly until the August 3 and broadcast on eNCA and eTV at 6.30pm every Thursday evening.
Detailed infographics:
