Home

Eskom load shedding might affect ANC’s electoral performance: Survey

Eskom
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Corruption scandals as well as struggles at Eskom have led to an increase in political alienation of voters as well as an increase in perceptions of corruption, and this has reduced South Africans’ confidence that the country is headed in the right direction. This is according to the South African Citizens Survey which analyzed public opinions from January to March 2019.

Amongst the findings are that in a high-turnout scenario, Eskom’s March load shedding has impacted on the potential electoral performance of the African National Congress (ANC), decreasing its vote of support of 63% in February to 61% in March 2019.

It finds that the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has been the principal beneficiary of the drop in ANC support as the party’s potential electoral performance rises from 9% in February to 11% in March 2019.

The survey finds that in the last three months, trust in Eskom has dropped by a drastic 17%  following the ramping up of load shedding and revelations at the State Capture Commission of the true nature of Eskom’s finances.

This is a key factor in the perception by a mere 22% of South Africans that the country is headed in the right direction. The survey also finds that South Africans are disassociating specific leaders from their respective parties evidenced in how ANC President Ramaphosa’s favourability rating has increased from 55% late in 2018 to 57 % currently, even though the Eskom crisis resulted in a decrease in potential electoral performance for the ANC.

Author

MOST READ