South Africa opinion polls
Parliamentary election Date not yet set.
African National Congress leads the polling average with 32.3%, 6.8 points ahead of Democratic Alliance.
Average
Updated 34 minutes ago
ANCAfrican National Congress
32.3
−0.5
DADemocratic Alliance
25.5
−0.2
MKUMkhonto weSizwe Party
14.1
+0.4
EFFEconomic Freedom Fighters
10.4
+1.2
IFPInkatha Freedom Party
3.7
−0.1
PAPatriotic Alliance
2.3
+0.1
Trend
ANCDAMKEFFASAIFP
Stances
ANCDAMKEFFASAIFP
Immigration
ExpandRestrictRemigration
Economy
Free marketState-directed
Christian identity2 unplaced
Abortion3 unplaced
Broad accessProtect unborn life
Marriage & family
Individual choiceTraditional
National culture
CosmopolitanPreserve heritage
Technology4 unplaced
Light-touchRein in Big Tech
Scores and reasons written by AI. Methodology
Why these scores
Immigration
- African National Congress: 4.5 of 10 2024 White Paper proposes leaving and rejoining the Refugee Convention; 2022 labour policy caps foreign workers
- Democratic Alliance: 4.5 of 10 DA-run Home Affairs introduced points-based skilled work visas and digital nomad visa; backs tougher border enforcement
- UMkhonto weSizwe Party: 5.5 of 10 Manifesto puts the military in charge of borders, citing four million illegal immigrants straining public services
- Economic Freedom Fighters: 2 of 10 Pan-Africanist: backs a United States of Africa and removing the Eswatini border; condemns anti-migrant attacks
- ActionSA: 6 of 10 Wants porous borders sealed and undocumented entry curbed, while making skilled immigration easier
- Inkatha Freedom Party: 5.5 of 10 Campaigned for stricter border controls, blaming undocumented migrants for straining public services
Economy
- African National Congress: 6.5 of 10 Signed National Health Insurance Act and Expropriation Act; keeps BEE ownership targets and state-owned Eskom and Transnet
- Democratic Alliance: 3 of 10 Challenges NHI and Expropriation Act in court; wants labour deregulation and BEE scrapped, but larger child grants
- UMkhonto weSizwe Party: 9 of 10 Would nationalise the Reserve Bank, big banks, insurers, strategic mines and Sasol; expropriate all land uncompensated
- Economic Freedom Fighters: 9 of 10 Nationalise mines and banks, all land under state custodianship, double social grants and the minimum wage
- ActionSA: 2.5 of 10 Market-based economy with less red tape and labour rules; opposes BEE, NHI and uncompensated expropriation
- Inkatha Freedom Party: 4 of 10 Favours lower income taxes, trade liberalisation and looser labour laws; opposed the Expropriation Bill
Christian identity
- African National Congress: 2.5 of 10 Governs under a secular constitution with religious freedom; no policy giving Christianity a role in law
- Democratic Alliance: 2 of 10 Liberal secular platform; defends constitutional religious freedom without any public role for a particular faith
- UMkhonto weSizwe Party: 4.5 of 10 Manifesto wants faith groups to run a national programme on African spiritual and moral values
- Economic Freedom Fighters: 2 of 10 No religion policy found; secular socialist programme gives no faith a role in law
Abortion
- African National Congress: 1.5 of 10 Passed 1996 Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act: abortion on request to 12 weeks, broad grounds to 20
- Democratic Alliance: 2.5 of 10 Accepts the 1996 law allowing abortion on request to 12 weeks; proposes no change
- Economic Freedom Fighters: 1.5 of 10 Backs free, accessible termination of pregnancy in public clinics as part of reproductive health
Marriage & family
- African National Congress: 2.5 of 10 Passed the 2006 same-sex marriage law; 2024 Hate Crimes Act protects sexual orientation and gender identity
- Democratic Alliance: 2.5 of 10 MPs split 22-12 for the 2006 same-sex marriage law; now backs LGBT equality under the Bill of Rights
- UMkhonto weSizwe Party: 7.5 of 10 Zuma pledged in January 2024 to overhaul same-sex marriage laws; anti-LGBT rhetoric at 2024 rallies
- Economic Freedom Fighters: 2 of 10 Condemns anti-homosexuality laws; protested Uganda's 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Bill at its embassy
- ActionSA: 3 of 10 Platform backs strong families 'however they are composed'; sexuality must not limit life chances
- Inkatha Freedom Party: 6 of 10 All 12 voting IFP MPs opposed the 2006 same-sex marriage law; no newer position found
National culture
- African National Congress: 3 of 10 Civic non-racialism with 12 official languages; BELA Act lets provincial officials override school language policies
- Democratic Alliance: 3.5 of 10 Fought BELA Act clauses moving school language decisions from governing bodies; otherwise civic non-racialism
- UMkhonto weSizwe Party: 8 of 10 Wants indigenous languages as lingua franca of schools and courts, and an upper house of kings
- Economic Freedom Fighters: 4 of 10 Black nationalist and pan-Africanist: pushes decolonised curriculum and indigenous languages, backs a United States of Africa
- ActionSA: 3.5 of 10 Platform celebrates diversity as an asset and rejects race-based law; no language or heritage agenda
- Inkatha Freedom Party: 7 of 10 Defends the Zulu monarchy and Ingonyama Trust land; wants more powers for the Zulu king
Subsidiarity
- African National Congress: 3 of 10 Centralising record: single national NHI fund, BELA Act school powers to departments, rejects devolving policing to provinces
- Democratic Alliance: 7 of 10 Federalist: seeks devolution of policing, rail and energy to capable provinces and metros; rejects Cape secession
- UMkhonto weSizwe Party: 3 of 10 Would replace constitutional supremacy with parliamentary supremacy, cut provinces to four, adds traditional-government sphere
- Economic Freedom Fighters: 2 of 10 Developmental state: all land under state custody, nationalised strategic sectors, continental political union
- Inkatha Freedom Party: 8 of 10 Federalist: wants power devolved to provinces and local government functions handed to traditional authorities
Technology
- African National Congress: 5.5 of 10 Passed Film and Publication Amendment Act extending classification to online content, and the 2020 Cybercrimes Act
- Democratic Alliance: 3.5 of 10 Its communications minister eased ownership rules to admit Starlink; no platform or child-safety curbs proposed