According to a recent survey conducted by the Social Research Foundation, a coalition between South Africa's ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), and the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), is the most preferred tie-up among registered voters. This is a significant development since the two parties have been bitter rivals for three decades, even though they have both pursued centrist policies.
The survey interviewed 3,200 registered voters in July and a further 1,517 in March, both of which produced similar results. Almost half of the respondents (47.8%) expected and welcomed the possibility of a coalition between the two parties, while 32.7% were sympathetic to the concept, and the remaining 11.5% were lukewarm. Only 7.5% strongly opposed the idea.
Interestingly, among ANC voters, around 25% or 30% of voters answered the same way that a DA voter would answer. Experts believe that a coalition could be more attractive to ANC voters if it meant better governance by DA, which has a good track record of leading South Africa's towns and cities.
The survey also revealed that almost a third of registered voters said that the two biggest parties should work together to govern the country if, as predicted by several polls, the ANC loses its absolute majority in next year's elections. The loss of public support is primarily due to frustrations over power cuts, crime, and poverty.
The most popular tie-up after a coalition between the two major parties was between the ANC and the populist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) at 19%. Furthermore, an alliance between the two main parties was favored by 55% of DA voters and 21% of ANC supporters. In contrast, a third of ANC voters preferred a tie-up with the EFF, while a grouping of all three parties was only backed by 14.9% of all respondents and 23% of ANC voters.
The DA is currently pursuing a grand coalition of opposition parties, excluding the EFF, in an attempt to unseat the ANC. However, if that fails, working with the ANC could be an option, according to DA leader John Steenhuisen. He stated that the party might have to be more pragmatic for the sake of the country's best interests and seek their voters' advice.
Despite ANC's opposition to allying with DA, they did not rule it out entirely. Currently, the ruling party has worked with the EFF to take control of municipalities in Gauteng, which is South Africa's economic hub.
Finally, the survey discovered that the ANC's fortunes are heavily reliant on President Cyril Ramaphosa. The vice-president, Paul Mashatile, garnered little public support, which indicates that the faction-riven ANC's future is tied to Ramaphosa's leadership. Cronje argues that Ramaphosa's popularity among the ANC's supporters is significant since 59% of them back him. A previous SRF survey showed that 39% of ANC voters would vote for a breakaway party established by Ramaphosa.
In conclusion, the survey's results show that South African voters may be ready for an unlikely coalition between the two major political parties in the country. Although DA and ANC have very different policies and ideologies, the people of South Africa may consider such a tie-up necessary to address the country's pressing issues of power cuts, crime, and poverty.