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The Democratic Alliance (DA) will likely be the biggest party in South Africa’s capital but could struggle to cobble together a workable coalition.

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

The latest polling showed that the DA had the support of 32% of voters in Tshwane, with its most likely coalition partner in the city, the Freedom Front Plus, on 7%.

The African National Congress had the support of just more than a quarter of voters in the city at 26%.

The third-most popular party in Tshwane was ActionSA, at 12%, with the Economic Freedom Fighters on 7%. The uMkhonto weSizwe Party did not have widespread support in the capital, with only 4% of voters supporting it there.

The chart below shows support levels for the parties from the 2021 local government elections, along with results from the SRF and The Common Sense’s last three rounds of polling in the city, as well as the average of the three polls.

Methodology

The figures come from a Social Research Foundation market survey conducted in conjunction with The Common Sense and carried out by Victory Research using telephonic CATI interviews. A single-frame random digit dialling design was used, with respondents screened for voter registration and then interviewed, and the sample was further quota-controlled for key demographic characteristics of South Africa’s registered voter population. National SIM card penetration exceeds 250.0%, making telephonic interviewing a reliable method of reaching a representative sample of registered voters. The sample was fully weighted according to the demographic parameters of the registered voter population.

The survey was conducted from 18 September to 12 October 2026 among 3 100 respondents.

It must be stressed that the election polling numbers are not forecasts or predictions. They are snapshots in time and South African politics is particularly fluid at the moment.