DA, ActionSA voters back coalition if needed - TimesLIVE
Supporters of the DA and ActionSA in Johannesburg and Tshwane want their party leaders to overcome their personal animosity and work together in coalitions after Wednesday’s local government elections, according to an eNCA MarkData election poll.
The full results of voter coalition preferences for each of the country’s six largest metros will be announced at 11am on Sunday in a live broadcast on eNCA and DStv.
Supporters of each major political party in every metro were asked which parties they would like their own party to go into coalition with if needed — and which parties they found unacceptable as potential partners. Respondents also had the option of stating that they did not want their party to join any coalition but rather stay in opposition.
A thousand registered voters who plan to vote were interviewed in each metro. The margin of error is 3% and the presumed turnout is 48.8%.
In Tshwane and Johannesburg, DA voters chose ActionSA as their favoured coalition partner. In Tshwane, 18.6% of DA supporters want to work with ActionSA, which is the third most popular option after the DA staying in opposition (33.1%) and governing with the Freedom Front Plus (25.2%).
Only 7.1% of DA voters in Tshwane are firmly opposed to working with ActionSA. Every other major party is rejected as a potential partner by a larger percentage of Tshwane DA voters. Among ActionSA respondents in Tshwane, the DA was by far the most popular coalition partner choice at 36.1%, followed by the EFF at 18.6%, with all other options in single digits. Around 11% of Tshwane ActionSA voters are firmly opposed to working with the DA.
In Johannesburg, where the disdain between mayoral candidates Helen Zille of the DA and ActionSA’s Herman Mashaba is mutual and pronounced, the message from their voters is even clearer. DA respondents in Johannesburg mostly wanted their party to stay out of coalitions (34.4%), but 32.5% wanted the DA to work with ActionSA. The Freedom Front Plus was next on DA voters’ wish list, at 12%. Only 5.1% of DA voters are firmly opposed to working with ActionSA.
ActionSA’s Johannesburg supporters would mostly like to go into coalition with the DA (43.1%). Of ActionSA Johannesburg respondents, only 11.7% were firmly opposed to working with the DA.
In a major Cape Town surprise, the DA turns out to be the most popular coalition choice for ANC voters. With the poll putting the MK Party on the cusp of a majority in eThekwini metro, their voters’ preferred coalition partner is the IFP — and MK Party is the preferred partner of more than half the IFP’s eThekwini respondents.
