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New polling* from The Common Sense and the Social Research Foundation shows about two thirds of likely voters want the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) to form a coalition in any municipality or metro where neither can govern alone. That has held across three rounds of polling since November. The governing party's own voters are the keenest, rising from 73% to 82%, and DA voters agree in every round as well. We reported in December that ANC voters preferred the DA to any other coalition partner when asked to choose between the options; this is the same electorate answering a different question, and giving the same answer. The chart below shows the share of likely voters, in total and by the party they support, who agree the two parties should form a coalition where neither wins a majority.

* The figures come from three 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: 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.