Cape Town - Market optimism that ANC election losses will prompt a change in the party’s leadership has boosted the rand, said Overberg Asset Management in its weekly overview notice of the economic and political landscape in South Africa.

Local government elections take place on Wednesday 3 August. The election results will come in on Thursday with final results likely to be announced on Friday.

The polls indicate that the ANC’s majority at a national level is set to slip further amid an increasingly unpopular president, divided party, and weak economy.