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More than half of South Africans would support a motion of no confidence (MONC) against President Cyril Ramaphosa.

This is according to a poll conducted by the Social Research Foundation (SRF) at the beginning of last year.

Respondents were asked: “If the DA [Democratic Alliance] called for a motion of no confidence in President Cyril Ramaphosa, because of the slow pace of reform under his leadership, would you support or oppose this?”

Fifty-one percent said they would support such a move, while 46% were opposed to it. The remainder were unsure or did not answer the question.

There was even support for such a move among supporters of Ramaphosa’s own party, the African National Congress (ANC).

Twenty-four percent of ANC voters said they would support a MONC, with 72% saying they would oppose it, with the remainder undecided.

Unsurprisingly, there were stronger levels of support for a MONC among other political parties.

Among respondents who support the ANC’s national coalition partner, the DA, 67% supported a MONC and 39% opposed it. Among uMkhonto weSizwe Party voters, 64% backed a MONC and 32% opposed it, and among Economic Freedom Fighters supporters, 74% backed a MONC and 25% opposed it.

Another SRF survey, conducted in February and March this year, asked respondents: “If President Cyril Ramaphosa steps down, or is removed as ANC president and South Africa's president, will this make you more or less likely to vote for the ANC?”

Forty-one percent said they would be more likely to vote for the ANC in such a scenario, 23% said it would make no difference, and 30% said it would make it less likely that they would vote for the party.

While Ramaphosa has historically been one of South Africa’s more popular politicians it is clear that there is a large section of the South African electorate who would welcome a MONC in him, or even his resignation.

Marius Roodt, deputy editor of The Common Sense, said: “South Africans have, en masse, lost confidence in the president. Only the last of the ANC’s voters – the bittereinders – are still backing him. But that’s after the ANC has lost its majority. And this was before the latest revelations of corruption against him, which will have done little to raise his support – given that the idea of him as a corruption fighter was a core reason that those who still stuck with him did so.”