Survey shows DA gains
2008-09-28 14:40
Johannesburg - The ruling African
National Congress and opposition Democratic Alliance are neck
and neck among urban South Africans ahead of an election due
next year, according to a survey in the Sunday Times newspaper.
The survey of 1 500 city dwellers - who are more likely to
be white and middle class - does not represent broader public
opinion, but the paper said it showed rising discontent with
the ANC after the ousting of Thabo Mbeki as president.
The ANC has dominated South African politics since the end
of apartheid but has been damaged by bitter rivalry between
Mbeki and party leader Jacob Zuma, frontrunner to win the
presidential election due next year.
In the biggest upheaval of the post-apartheid era, the ANC
last week forced Mbeki to resign and appointed Zuma ally Kgalema
Motlanthe to replace him as interim president.
Vote DA
Investors and some middle-class voters, who favoured Mbeki's
pro-business policies, are worried the ANC under Zuma and
Motlanthe will bow to pressure from their Communist and trade
union allies to tilt South Africa to the left.
About 26% of those surveyed said they would vote for
the DA, a traditionally white party which is trying to boost its
black support, if an election were held tomorrow. Some 27% would vote for the ANC and about 27% said they
were undecided, the paper reported.
Just over half those surveyed by research group Ipsos
Markinor said South Africa was going in the "wrong direction"
and 27% said they would consider emigrating.
The paper, which noted previous polls showed a huge ANC lead
in rural areas, said the survey was conducted via telephone and
was representative of the minority of South Africans, mostly
middle class, with land line phones.
There has been some speculation that supporters of Mbeki
could split from the formerly monolithic ANC and start a rival
party, though many analysts say this is unlikely.
Zuma dismissed the idea in an interview in The Sunday
Independent newspaper and said any breakaway party would fail.
"The problem with speculation about what is simply rumours
and speculation is that one just adds fuel to the rumour fire,"
Zuma was quoted as saying.
"Besides, I'll tell you one thing that we know from decades
of experience. Anyone who has left the ANC, for whatever reason,
has failed to shine. The ANC is simply bigger than the
individuals in it."
Zuma said on Saturday the ruling party and its allies would
"prove there is no alternative to the ANC", which was preparing
for an "overwhelming victory" in next year's elections.
Motlanthe is due to make his first televised speech to the
nation on Sunday at 17:00.