A recent survey by global market research and consulting firm Ipsos has revealed that supporters of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) are confident that corruption will not be a significant issue in future because they believe the party is dealing with State capture.

Ipsos director Mari Harris spoke to Polity following the recent findings from the latest Pulse of the People survey, conducted during March and April, as South Africans are preparing to vote during the country’s sixth democratic general election.

She said more than half of the respondents, who are Democratic Alliance (DA) voters, feel that the party was more talk than action.

Harris said it was evident that many people do not understand how the State is assembled. 

“They [voters] feel that all political parties don’t make a difference. Possibly they can, but not all of them are in power,” said Harris.

Speaking of the Economic Freedom Fighters, Harris said that their registered voters believed that the party’s actions in public was a show of strength, while South Africans in general didn’t think that those actions were fitting in Parliament.

“South Africans in general are anti the disruption of Parliament,” Harris pointed out.

SERVICE DELIVERY PROTESTS

Harris went on to say that history has shown that service delivery protests tend to increase around the election season.

“It has a lot to do with the fact that people know that all the problems they have with service delivery will get attention either from the media or from leaders… It is the ideal time to take their views across,” she said.

SMALL PARTIES TAKING PART AT THE POLLS

Harris told Polity that an increase in the number of new political parties was an indication that about a third of South Africans felt that there was no political party that represented their views.

She said a majority of the small parties will probably lose the money they have paid at the Independent Electoral Commission because they will simply not gain a seat in Parliament.

She went on to say that the African Transformation Movement, which has allegedly been linked to former President Jacob Zuma and ANC secretary general Ace Magashule, will also not gain a seat in Parliament.

RAMAPHOSA AND DLAMINI-ZUMA

The Ipsos survey also revealed that President Cyril Ramaphosa was a breath of fresh air to South Africans following the tenure of former President Jacob Zuma.

“He has inspired woman to vote. Fifty-five percent of voters are women while 45 percent are men. On the voters’ roll, women are over represented and President Ramaphosa has something to do with this because he talks about issues of women, housing and the future of children and he is not a radical politician. I do believe that has had an influence on his popularity,” she added.

The survey also showed that Minister in the Presidency for the National Planning Commission for Policy and Evaluation Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was more popular among voters compared with Deputy President David Mabuza.

Harris said that even though the margin was not much between the two, South Africans should not underestimate the influence that Dlamini-Zuma has on the party.

“She has an influence on the women’s league in the party and has her own support base inside the ANC,” said Harris.