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New polling* from The Common Sense and the Social Research Foundation shows that most voters would not support a company that cuts its workforce to get out of black economic empowerment (BEE) rules. Voters were asked to imagine a company for which complying with BEE is so expensive that it cuts its staff to fewer than 50 people so that the BEE law no longer applies to it, and whether they would support that decision. In October 2026, 57% of voters said no, companies must be willing to make sacrifices to comply with BEE, and 40% said yes, a company must do what it can to survive. Among black voters, 65% said no and 33% said yes. Coloured and white voters leaned the other way. Among coloured voters, 67% backed the company and 31% did not. Among white voters, 58% backed it and 33% did not. The chart below shows how voters, and each population group, answered.

*The figures come from the Social Research Foundation's October 2026 Market Survey, conducted in conjunction with The Common Sense, a national telephone poll of 3 100 registered voters between 18 September and 12 October 2026, with results weighted to the registered voter population. The survey has a design effect of 3.3044.