The ANC in Johannesburg says a new Ipsos survey shows the party is starting to recover support in the city, with the poll placing it ahead of the DA.
The Ipsos findings, released on Friday, 4 September, put the ANC at 31% support in Johannesburg. The party says the result shows it is beginning to reverse its decline and rebuild voter confidence.
ANC says support is returning
ANC Greater Johannesburg regional secretary Sasa Manganye described the findings as encouraging, but said the party could not afford to become complacent.
He said the ANC now needs to strengthen its organisation, improve community engagement and turn what it sees as renewed confidence into electoral gains.
Manganye also said the poll suggests some former ANC supporters are returning to the party.
Polls show very different Joburg picture
The Ipsos result differs sharply from recent polling by the Social Research Foundation.
That survey placed the DA on 42% in Johannesburg and the ANC on 18%. By comparison, the Ipsos findings put the ANC at 31% and the DA at 27%, giving the ANC a four-point lead.
The ANC questioned how two polls could produce such different results and called for closer scrutiny of their methodologies, samples, turnout assumptions and interpretations.
Manganye also criticised the SRF poll’s presentation, arguing that polling should not be used to create a perception that one party is certain to win.
ANC points to survey limitations
According to Manganye, the SRF poll was conducted by Victory Research and surveyed 504 Johannesburg respondents.
He said it used a 53% turnout model and had a reported margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.
The ANC says the difference between the SRF and Ipsos findings is why competing polls should face scrutiny when their results differ significantly.
For now, the party is presenting the Ipsos result as a sign that its support in Johannesburg is beginning to recover, while warning its members that more work is still needed ahead of the electoral contest.
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