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The most popular party among South African women is the Democratic Alliance (DA), while the most popular party among South African men is the African National Congress (ANC).

This is according to polling* conducted by The Common Sense in conjunction with the Social Research Foundation (SRF).

The DA had the support of 30% of women. Among men the party was supported by 26%.

The chart below shows the share of each sex supporting the DA, ANC, uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), or another party.

[A note to readers: These figures show the share of men and women who say they support the DA, ANC, MKP, EFF, or another party. They do not account for differences in voter turnout. When The Common Sense publishes national electoral standings, those figures are adjusted using a likely voter model to reflect expected turnout. As a result, the party support figures shown here may differ from the electoral standings published elsewhere by The Common Sense.]

According to the Electoral Commission (IEC), significantly more women than men were registered to vote, following the most recent round of voter registration in August. Of the 29.2 million registered voters in South Africa, 16.2 million (55%) were women and 13.0 million (45%) were men. According to Statistics South Africa, the proportion of women in the country was 51%.

In explaining why this would be the case, one of the ideas that came up in an editorial meeting of The Common Sense was that given that the proportion of women who head households in South Africa has grown significantly (almost 50% of all South African households are now headed by women), and are also carrying the balance of the burden of responsibility for raising children in the country, to an extent a consequence of the degree to which they are abandoned by men, this may be factoring into their political decision-making.

* The Social Research Foundation’s Q2 2026 Market Survey was conducted in conjunction with The Common Sense and carried out by Victory Research among 2 214 registered voters between 8 and 31 July 2026 using telephonic CATI interviews. National results are based on the full sample of 2 214 respondents. Metro results are based on samples of 504 respondents in Johannesburg, 508 in Tshwane, and 500 in eThekwini. A single frame random digit dialling design was used, drawing from all possible South African mobile numbers to ensure that every number had an equal probability of selection. National SIM card penetration exceeds 250.0%, more than 90.0% of adults own a phone, and mobile networks cover 99.8% of the population, providing universal practical coverage. The samples were fully weighted to match the relevant registered voter populations across all key demographics, including language, age, race, gender, education, income, and urban or rural location. Turnout modelling assigned each respondent a probability of voting based on questions measuring their likelihood of participation, with the primary turnout model set at 56.0%. The national results carry a margin of error of 2.1% at a 95.0% confidence level, while the Johannesburg, Tshwane, and eThekwini results each carry a margin of error of 4.4%. The survey has a design effect of 3.7938.