By this evening, South Africans may find that the ANC has surrendered its national majority, according to outgoing IRR CEO Frans Cronje.
He told the Daily Friend last night: ‘As much has gone wrong for the ANC as it possibly could have.
‘It failed to pay staff in the run up to the election, its Covid-19 lockdown decision crushed the living standards of many of its supporters, reform promises remain unmet, load-shedding dented supporter confidence in the week before the poll, and late IPSOS polling estimated that it would fall below 50%.’
In 2012 the IRR predicted that the ANC would surrender its national majority in 2024, and it had repeated that prediction regularly since.
Cronje added: ‘It’s too early to call that now but it would be quite something if the ANC came in below 50% two-plus years ahead of our 2024 call. In 24 hours we will know for sure.’