South Africa’s pre-election landscape: Trust in political parties and leaders
Currently, over a third (35%) of registered South African voters feel that no political party fully aligns with their views and opinions. This sentiment poses a significant challenge for voters as they grapple with their party choices in the upcoming national and provincial elections.
Underlining this sentiment, while firm supporters of the three major political parties express high levels of trust in their own chosen parties, the broader South African populace exhibits low levels of trust in these same political parties.
Similarly, political leaders themselves garner little confidence from the electorate. When registered voters were asked to rate how they are performing as political leaders on the national scene on a scale of 1 to 10, only President Ramaphosa managed to secure a score slightly above the midpoint of 5.
However, a starkly contrasting picture emerges when considering the views of supporters aligned with each political leader's party. Among these partisan subgroups, evaluations of their respective leaders are markedly more favourable.
As the nation approaches the upcoming elections, these findings underscores the complex dynamics at play, with a significant portion of the electorate feeling unrepresented and a clear divergence between the views of committed party supporters and the general public. The outcome of the elections will likely hinge on how effectively parties and leaders can bridge this gap and appeal to the broader South African populace.
About the study
This press release is based on the views of 2,545 registered voters. Interviews were conducted by trained Ipsos interviewers in the homes and home languages of respondents. Interviews were conducted from 9 March 2024 to 15 April 2024. A scientific process of multi-stage stratified random selection distributed interviews in all areas of the county, including deep rural areas. This methodology ensured that the results are representative of the views of the universe (South Africans eligible to vote) and that findings can be weighted and projected to the universe. Those registered to vote were filtered from the total sample and separately weighted – using the voter registration figures from the IEC (Independent Electoral Commission). Trained quantitative fieldworkers were responsible for the interviewing and CAPI (Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing) was used. All results were collated and analysed in an aggregate format to protect the identity and confidentiality of respondents. Using a ballot paper like that used in an election, respondents had to “vote for” their choice of political party. The question specified that they needed to consider their choice as if the election were happening the next day. All sample surveys are subject to a margin of error, determined by sample size, sampling methodology and response rate. The sample error for this sample at a 95% confidence level is a maximum of plus or minus 1.9%.
