Race No Longer Drives Voter Priorities – Survey

A new report argues that while race still affects daily life in South Africa, it no longer structures how voters think about politics, priorities, or fairness.

This is according to the Institute of Race Relations (IRR), a think tank in Johannesburg.

The findings from the IRR’s report come from a survey of 807 people conducted in March and April 2025.

The IRR said that socio-economic issues such as crime and unemployment were the most pressing concerns for respondents, rather than racism or black economic empowerment (BEE).

When asked to name their most pressing concerns, respondents overwhelmingly chose socio-economic priorities. Thirty-eight percent chose jobs, 10% chose corruption, and 9% chose crime. By contrast, only 2% cited racism and 4% mentioned BEE.

Most South Africans also believe that hiring should be merit- rather than race-based

According to the IRR, 84% of respondents said that government appointments should be merit-based, rather than based on race, with 92% saying that sport teams should be picked only on merit, with no thought given to quotas.

Respondents were also in favour of more opportunity and jobs to combat inequality, rather than race-based government engineering.

Seventy-three percent of those surveyed agreed that: “with better education and more jobs, the present inequality between the races will steadily disappear.”

IRR spokesperson, Hermann Pretorius said: “Race remains a lived experience, but it is no longer the axis on which issues ought to be decided. Political and societal actors who fail to adapt to this reality will not only misgovern, but sacrifice social standing and put at risk their own survival. The conclusion is therefore unavoidable: South Africa’s electorate has deracialised, while its political class has not.”