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Polling* from The Common Sense and the Social Research Foundation shows that the African National Congress (ANC) has lost ground with likely voters before next month’s local elections. In February 2025, likely voters were split down the middle: 41% held a favourable view of the ANC and 41% held an unfavourable view. By July 2026, only 30% held a favourable view of it, while 51% held an unfavourable view. More likely voters now dislike the ANC than like it. The chart below shows how likely voters have rated the ANC in each poll since February 2025.

*The figures come from five Social Research Foundation Market Surveys of registered voters, each a national telephone poll with results weighted to the voting population. Figures in this piece are for likely voters, a subgroup of each round’s registered-voter sample; the margin for a subgroup is wider than the national margin. The rounds were: February 2025 (1 004 respondents, design effect 2.01; 582 likely voters), June 2025 (1 004 respondents, design effect 2.01; 747 likely voters), November 2025 (1 002 respondents, design effect 1.76; 551 likely voters), March 2026 (2 222 respondents, design effect 3.27; 1 199 likely voters) and July 2026 (2 214 respondents, design effect 3.79; 1 583 likely voters).