PRETORIA: Opinion polls ahead of next week's local elections brought bad news for South Africa's ruling African National Congress as it reveals it would most likely to lose major urban areas it has held since it came to power in 1994.
Polls published last week by Ipsos said the economic hub of Johannesburg, capital Pretoria, and Nelson Mandela Bay on the east coast, saw falling to main opposition party Democratic Alliance. ANC's support looked likely to slip to 31 per cent in Johannesberg from 59 per cent in the 2011 55 per cent, and 28 per cent in Nelson Mandela Bay from 52 per cent. A local, Brian Malope, 38, said, "I voted for the ANC last time but now I'm not sure. Look around, nothing has changed." The party's reputation took a hit after accusations of corruption against President Jacob Zuma rose, along with unemployment rates in the country. Zuma barely survived an impeachment vote in April, not to forget the criticism he faced in December, for changing his finance minister twice in a week, a move that sent the rand currency plummeting.
However, some analysts said a flare-up of violent anti-government riots would not necessarily lead to ballot box losses. "People come out in protests. But still, as they protest against the ANC they're hoping it's the ANC that will solve the country's problems. No doubt that the current president has become a liability to the ANC due to a litany of unethical behaviour," said political analyst Aubrey Matshiqi said.
Pan-African research body Afrobarometer said last month that Zuma's approval rating of 34 per cent was the lowest score since the poll started in 2000. Its June poll of 2,400 people found that six out of 10 South Africans disapproved of the way their local councillors had done their jobs over the previous 12 months.
