Former South African President Jacob Zuma’s new political party Umkhonto Wesizwe has the potential to collect a portion of the ANC’s support base in the upcoming election. Recent polling data shows that Zuma, affectionately known as “Msholozi,” is highly favoured by voters in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province.
A poll conducted by the Social Research Foundation (SRF) aimed to explore Zuma’s popularity in KZN and South Africa as a whole. The survey also sought to determine which president KZN voters believed was the best for the province.
The data from the poll revealed that black voters in KwaZulu-Natal considered both Nelson Mandela and Jacob Zuma to be equally valuable for the province.
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The survey involved 1,412 registered voters nationwide to gauge the national perspective on Jacob Zuma. Additionally, 2,432 registered voters from KZN participated in the survey to provide a regional perspective.
Participants were asked to rate their feelings towards the former president on a scale of 0 to 100, with 0 indicating a very cold and unfavourable feeling, 50 representing neutrality, and 100 indicating a very warm and favourable feeling.
Nationally, the data shows that Zuma is favoured by 29% of black voters, 15% of Indian voters, and 2% of Coloured voters, with an overall favorability rating of 22%. In KZN, 63% of black voters expressed a “very favourable” sentiment towards Zuma, with 6% of Indian voters and 1% of white voters.
Regarding the question of which president was considered the best for KZN, 47% of voters from all racial backgrounds believed Nelson Mandela was the most suitable leader for the province. Zuma was voted the second-best president for KZN.
Among the Indian population, 75% of voters regarded Mandela as the best, while only 1% believed Zuma was the most suitable for the province. Mandela also emerged as the most favoured president among the black, white, and coloured race groups.
Interestingly, no coloured voters considered Zuma to be the best for KZN, while 7% of white voters held that opinion. Both Zuma and Mandela received a 43% rating among black voters when it came to who was the best for KZN during their respective tenures.
It is important to note that the poll had a margin of error of five per cent. The SRF report cautioned that while Zuma’s favorability scores are high, this does not necessarily translate into electoral support without a strong party infrastructure in place.
The report estimates that Zuma’s new political venture may only marginally impact the ANC’s support base.
Zuma, the former President of the ANC, recently withdrew his support for the ruling party and formed his own political movement to regain the political influence he once wielded. However, since the launch of the MK Party, prominent ANC members such as Bheki Cele and Fikile Mbalula have criticized Zuma, accusing him of being power-hungry to some extent.
During a recent political event, Cele was seen mocking Zuma and even suggested that he might become a councillor. Fikile Mbalula, the Secretary General of the ANC, stated to the media that ANC members who joined Zuma’s party were seen as “a problem” for the ruling party.
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