MK eyes Durban majority; DA leads in Tshwane - TimesLIVE

Former president Jacob Zuma’s MK Party is within striking distance of winning an overall majority in the Durban-based eThekwini metro, the eNCA MarkData poll has found.

In Gauteng’s Tshwane metro, the DA will be the largest party by a wide margin but will fall well short of an overall majority, according to the poll.

The full poll results will be announced during a live broadcast on eNCA (DStv channel 403) at 11am this morning, with expert analysis of the findings.

The poll assumed a turnout of 48.8% for the November 4 local election. The margin of error for each metro is about 3%.

In eThekwini, the MK party is polling at 48%, followed by the DA at 25.2%. The ANC’s figures reflect its sharp decline in support in 2024, with the IFP the only other party polling above 5% in KwaZulu-Natal’s only metro.

The results in the Tshwane metro, which includes the country’s administrative capital, Pretoria, are markedly different, with the DA polling at 33.9% and the ANC at 24.3%. Supporters of the EFF, ActionSA and the Freedom Front Plus will take heart from their relatively strong polling results in the metro.

Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya has clearly impressed voters: she is more than twice as popular as ActionSA, the party she represents. All other Tshwane mayoral candidates poll lower than their respective political parties.

In both eThekwini and Tshwane, respondents blame the ANC for service delivery problems, with water a major concern in both metros. The poor response to flood damage has also severely undermined the ANC in eThekwini.

In both metros, ANC candidates are further handicapped by their party’s inability to settle on mayoral candidates.

The eNCA MarkData poll was conducted between August 12 and September 10 in the country’s six largest metros, among 6,000 scientifically selected registered voters who intend to vote in the election — 1,000 per metro. Interviews were conducted in the language of each respondent’s choice.