Almost three quarters of South Africans believe the country is moving in the wrong direction. This is according to a new nationally representative poll conducted by the Rivonia Circle.

“The majority of voters cite unemployment as the biggest issue. Corruption, crime, load-shedding and the cost of living follow unemployment as the major issues South Africans want confronted,” the think-tank said on Wednesday.

The survey, which canvassed a sample size of 2,000 registered voters, nationally representative of age, gender, race and province, points to the possibility of a new political future in SA where no party will get more than 50% of the vote in 2024.

This, it said, will lead to an unprecedented coalition government at national level.

“Almost 74% of South Africans believe that the country is moving in the wrong direction. The poll yielded a margin error of 2.2% at the 95% confidence interval.”

One of the deep desires expressed by those who participated in the survey was the need for people-centred and more community-rooted politics.

“The survey conducted with Ipsos shows that the DA’s share of the vote would continue to decline to 18% while the EFF would increase to 15%. Likely voter turnout is now about 65%.”

The poll indicated that most voters are no longer attracted to the ANC and are ready for change.

“However, the results also show that they are struggling to find an alternative that resonates with them. It is, however, important to recognise that change does not happen by itself; you have to make it happen.”

The organisation said existing political parties needed to rethink their way of doing things and adopt politics that listen more and preach less to voters.

Source: TimesLIVE