Will you vote? Here are the parties people may be most likely to choose

The forthcoming local government elections are likely to see an increase in support for the EFF, Action SA and other smaller parties. 

That’s according to an Ipsos poll which found the ANC was leading the pack, despite a possible decrease in support. 

Ipsos undertook a computer-assisted telephone interviewing study from August 16 to August 20, interviewing 1,501 randomly selected adults in the country.

Participants were asked which party they would vote for in the local government elections, with 49% choosing the ANC, 17.9% the DA and 14.5% the EFF.

In comparison to the 2019 national election, 57.5% voted for the ANC, 20.8% voted for the DA and 10.8% voted for the EFF, making it the biggest beneficiary of changes in voting support.

“Countrywide almost half (49.3%) will draw a cross next to the name of the ANC, while support for both the DA (17.9%) and the EFF (14.5%) respectively, is also in double figures. SA has a plethora of registered political parties, but very few currently garner more than one percent of support,” said Ipsos. 

Out of those interviewed, 1.5% indicated their support for newcomer ActionSA and the African Christian Democratic Party.

The IFP could get 1.4% of the vote and the Freedom Front Plus 1.2%.

Ipsos found not all eligible voters will vote in the local government elections at the end of October.

Reasons mentioned for not considering voting included;

• “I have no interest in voting in local elections. I only vote in national elections.”
• “I will vote for whoever wants to do the job and run the country properly.”
• “I will vote for any party, as long as it is not the ANC.”
• “I’ll see who to vote for when I get to the polling station.”
• “I am unemployed. Why should I vote?”

“Seven in every 10 (71%) have indicated they would vote in the coming local government elections. The data suggested they would also support a wide variety of parties,” said Ipsos.

Ipsos stressed the poll was not a prediction but a snapshot of support at a point in time. 

“A large proportion of voters have made up their minds, and 7.4% of those who indicated they will vote in the local government elections are not (yet) allocated to a political party. Predictions, for what they are worth, should only be made much closer to election day,” it said. 

Most of the people who will be voting come from Limpopo (79%), North West (76%) and Eastern Cape (76%).

Mpumalanga, Free State and Northern Cape all had a voting intention in the region of 60%.