A survey conducted by Geopolitics Risk showed that the public was more receptive towards the African National Congress (ANC) and uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK) forming a coalition.
The survey was conducted a week after the country held its national elections on May 29. At least 1,120 respondents were interviewed during the survey.
The findings were subsequently posted on X (formerly Twitter) by Geopolitics Risk analyst, Bongani Mbindwane.
The survey comes after the ANC suffered a defeat in the 2024 elections, gaining a mere 40% support, resulting it losing its grip on total power.
The loss of votes has created a lot of debate on who will the ANC form an alliance with to govern the country.
According to the survey, 64.8% of the people who were called, responded positive towards the idea of ANC and MK forming a coalition, while 21.1% had a negative response, and a meagre 14.1% experienced difficulty in answering the question.
Regarding the other opposition parties, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the survey established that more people were against the DA and ANC forming a coalition, almost 56% people were against the idea.
Regarding the EFF and ANC, only 38.9% were in support of the coalition.
A mere 27.1% said it was positive with the DA and the ANC forming an alliance, while only 33.2% was happy with the ANC and the EFF working together.
IOL reported on Wednesday that the ANC’s National Working Committee had proposed to the NEC a government of national unity (GNU), comprising parties such as the DA, EFF, IFP, PA and NFP.
However, ANC members and its allies have raised concerns about a potential ANC-DA coalition, stating that this would be a disaster for the country.
For the stability of the nation, some party members believe that a marriage of the ANC and DA is the greatest choice.
Others, however, have vehemently opposed the agreement, including alliance partners, the South African Communist Party (SACP), and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu).
Meanwhile, the MK Party, led by Jacob Zuma, did a U-turn on its earlier stance not to participate in the coalition talks with the ANC due to the involvement of the DA.
This decision has resulted in the delay by the ANC to finalise its coalition partner following widespread criticism over its intention to partner with the DA in the government of national unity.
In a statement released on Thursday, the MK Party confirmed that it has finally agreed to engage in talks with the governing party.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula revealed that it had approached the new king-makers in the MKP with a view to finding common ground on the coalition talks.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
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