The African National Congress (ANC) could lose its grip on power to the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Nelson Mandela Bay and the City of Tshwane.

Although the ANC could still retain the City of Joburg‚ should the DA enter into a coalition with other parties‚ power could be wrested from the ruling party.

Polls conducted by eNCA and Ipsos show a dramatic growth of the Da‚ particularly in Nelson Mandela Bay and Tshwane.

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The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) placed third with small support in the three metros where research was conducted.

According to the polls in Nelson Mandela Bay‚ 34% of participants said they will vote DA‚ 30% ANC and 7% for the EFF.

But 21% are still undecided on which party to give their votes to.

The margin between the ANC and DA in Tshwane is wider.

A total of 33% of people who were surveyed confirm the DA as their choice‚ while the ANC secured 28%. Only 10% said they would vote EFF‚ while the remaining 17% of potential voters were undecided.

The ANC could retain the City of Joburg with 31% of votes‚ the DA on 29 and the EFF 10; while 19 % are undecided.

Most participants of the survey expressed negative sentiments towards the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)‚ the Congress of the People and the EFF.

Ipsos director and political analyst Mari Harris said participants were first asked how they felt about political parties.

“The sentiment question was the first one on the survey and it is used as an introduction; we do not want to rush people with the voting question immediately‚” said Harris.

“We did not follow this up with an open-ended question.”

Another political analyst Elvis Masoga said some voters could be regarding Cope and EFF as parties of power-mongers.

“People are reluctant to associate with splinter formations because they do not trust defectors‚” he said.

“Politicians who defect are regarded as those who do not want to be led and it is for that reason that they form their own parties.”

Masoga denied that the EFF’s plan to grab land was the reason for the negative sentiments.

“There is a huge hunger for land in this country and the majority of people support a view that land should be returned‚” he said.

Masoga said the IFP could be viewed negatively because it was associated with political violence previously.

– TMG Digital