The ANC is on course to secure barely more than half of the vote in 2019’s national elections, its worst result, a survey commissioned by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) showed. About 52% of 978 registered voters interviewed between August 22 and September 4 said they would support the ANC, while 23% backed the DA and 13% the EFF, according to the poll, which was done by Victory Research on behalf of the Johannesburg-based research institute. The survey had a margin of error of 3%.

Should the poll prove an accurate barometer of voter preferences, it would indicate that the ANC has yet to recover from former president Jacob Zuma’s scandal-marred rule, during which its share of the ballot fell to 54% in a 2016 municipal vote, from 62% in national elections two years before. The governing party forced Zuma to step down in February and named Cyril Ramaphosa to succeed him. The survey showed that the EFF, which won 8% of the vote in 2016, has won over many disenchanted ANC su...

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