Nkandla may hurt ANC at polls – study

President Jacob Zuma's home in Nkandla. Picture: Doctor Ngcobo

President Jacob Zuma's home in Nkandla. Picture: Doctor Ngcobo

Published Jan 13, 2014

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Mpumalanga - The scandal on the security upgrades at President Jacob Zuma’s private home could hurt the ANC at the upcoming general elections.

A study by research company Ipsos Markinor has revealed that the Nkandla saga was among some of the reasons the ANC is growing unpopular among voters.

The study, released at the weekend, says the ruling party is currently more unpopular with eligible voters than it was in November 2008.

“Looking at the results from the November 2008 poll, about six months before the 2009 election, and the results from the November 2013 poll, about six months before the 2014 election, it is clear that the overall support of the ANC fell with 10 percentage points.

“The party shed almost a fifth, 19 percent, of its overall support – from 63 percent in November 2008 to 53 percent in November 2013,” says the survey.

The poll showed that some of the new political parties such as Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters and Agang SA “benefited from the support moving away from the ANC”.

“It is clear that most of this loss occurred during the last year from November 2012 to November 2013. Political uncertainty, leadership issues, the aftermath of the Marikana shootings, the issues about Nkandla, service delivery protests, the forming of new political parties,” said Ipsos

 

ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu said while the party does not comment on popularity surveys, “we do take it seriously”.

Mthembu agreed that surveys could be true reflections.

“But reflections are likely to change with time, like when we manage to reach out to each and every person. There will be changes in peoples’ perceptions, so we don’t comment.

 

He said the poll findings would only “galvanise” the party.

Cape Times

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