A new poll conducted by Ipsos shows an uptick in support for the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), with support for the African National Congress (ANC) declining.
The poll, conducted between July and September, showed the ANC had lost five percentage points in support. The last time the poll was conducted, in November last year, some 55% of respondents said they would vote for the ANC, compared to 50% in the most recent poll.
Support for the DA grew from 13% to 16% over the same period, while the EFF saw its support go from 8% to 13%.
Nearly 4 000 people were polled.
The only other two parties which registered support levels of one percent or higher in the poll were the Inkatha Freedom Party and Freedom Front Plus (FF+).
Supporters of the three most popular parties were also asked about their second-choice party. The EFF was the most popular second choice for ANC voters (with 30% saying it was their second choice). The DA was the second choice for 19% of ANC supporters. The ANC was the most popular second choice for both DA and EFF voters, with 21% and 31%, respectively, saying it was their second choice. Only 11% of DA voters said the EFF was their second choice (with 10% picking the FF+), while a quarter of EFF voters made the DA their second choice.
On whether they thought the country was going in the right direction, only 28% of respondents said they believed it was, with 41% saying it was not, and the remainder either saying they did not know or refusing to answer the question.
Some 37% of ANC supporters said they thought South Africa was going in the right direction, while only 19% of DA supporters and 23% of EFF voters expressed this view.