This article is free for everyone to read.

New polling* from The Common Sense and the Social Research Foundation shows more likely voters have viewed the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) unfavourably than favourably in every round of polling since February last year. In July, 63% viewed the party unfavourably and 15% favourably, more than four to one against, and the widest gap of the five rounds. Its favourable share is lower than it was in February last year, at 15% against 22%, and the share viewing it unfavourably has risen. The gap has never been narrower than 31 points. The chart below shows the share of likely voters with a favourable and an unfavourable view of the EFF at each round of polling since February 2025.

* The figures come from five Social Research Foundation Market Surveys 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 in each round, 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. Each sample was fully weighted to match the registered voter population 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%. Figures in this piece are for likely voters under that model. Each round carries a national margin of error of 4.0% at a 95.0% confidence level.

The rounds were: 4 to 19 February 2025, 1 004 respondents, 582 likely voters, design effect 2.0127; 28 May to 9 June 2025, 1 004 respondents, 747 likely voters, design effect 2.0069; 27 October to 15 November 2025, 1 002 respondents, 551 likely voters, design effect 1.7620; 20 February to 6 March 2026, 2 222 respondents, 1 199 likely voters, design effect 3.2675; and 8 to 31 July 2026, 2 214 respondents, 1 583 likely voters, design effect 3.7938.