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New polling* from The Common Sense and the Social Research Foundation shows voters aged 65 and over have gone from an even split on the African National Congress (ANC) to a three-to-one unfavourable view. In February last year 43% viewed the party favourably and 42% unfavourably. The favourable share then fell to 33% in June and 28% in November, recovered to 41% in March, and fell to 15% in July. The unfavourable share ran 48% and 52% through 2025, dipped to 41% in March, and rose to 75% in July. The March reading was the ANC's best among this group since the series began; the July reading is its worst on both measures by a wide margin. Over the full period the favourable share has fallen by 29 points and the unfavourable share has risen by 32. The chart below shows the share of voters aged 65 and over with a favourable and an unfavourable view of the ANC at each of the five rounds 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 voters aged 65 and over, a subgroup of each round's registered-voter sample; the margin for a subgroup is wider than the national margin. 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, design effect 2.0127; 28 May to 9 June 2025, 1 004 respondents, design effect 2.0069; 27 October to 15 November 2025, 1 002 respondents, design effect 1.7620; 20 February to 6 March 2026, 2 222 respondents, design effect 3.2675; and 8 to 31 July 2026, 2 214 respondents, design effect 3.7938.