The ANC would “immediately” lose 20% of voter support if President Cyril Ramaphosa resigns, according to findings based on an internal poll, underscoring his popularity despite the Phala Phala scandal that threatened to derail his political career.
Ramaphosa won re-election as head of the ANC in December just weeks after an independent panel denounced his handling of the theft of foreign currency from his game farm. The scandal raised concerns he would quit as head of state and step aside as party leader if found guilty of bringing the organisation into disrepute.
A poll conducted by the governing party found Ramaphosa has a popularity rating of 68% among South African voters, compared with 60% for the party, ANC chair Gwede Mantashe said on Friday. “He is more popular than the party in terms of the latest statistics.”
It also showed that without Ramaphosa as its face, the party would get 40% of the ballot in next year’s national elections and 48% with him, as he continues to be a calling card with voters despite his reputation taking a knock because of the scandal, Mantashe said.
The results are similar to a survey of 3,200 registered voters carried out by the Social Research Foundation in July and released two days before the panel issued its report. It found support for the ANC could collapse to between 30% and 40% should Ramaphosa leave the party.
Support for the ANC dropped below 50% for the first time in 2021 local government elections and several opinion polls show it’s in danger of losing its national majority in 2024.
Confidence in the party has been eroded by its failure to head off an energy crisis and stem an economic decline that’s spawned rampant unemployment, inequality and crime.
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