One Johannesburg poll puts the Democratic Alliance ahead of the African National Congress before South Africa’s Wednesday, Nov. 4, municipal election, sharpening the contest over council control and the city’s strained services.
Victory Research conducted telephone interviews with 3,100 respondents from Sept. 18 to Oct. 12, 2026, for a Social Research Foundation and The Common Sense survey. The DA received 36% support in Johannesburg, compared with 22% for the ANC, 11% for uMkhonto weSizwe Party and 9% for ActionSA. Across the country, the same poll measured 32% for the ANC and 26% for the DA.
The DA named mayoral candidate Helen Zille on Sept. 20, 2025. A separate News24/SABI Strategy Group survey interviewed 5,001 registered voters from Aug. 25 to Sept. 17, 2026, including 1,000 in Johannesburg. It recorded 36% personal support for Zille in the mayoral race. News24 reported she would need coalition partners to reach a majority; her result measures candidate preference, not DA party support.
The Economist reported that DA internal polling projected a rise in the party’s share of the national Black vote from about 4.5% to 9%. Black Africans made up 84.5% of Johannesburg residents in Statistics South Africa’s 2022 Census, a count of residents that does not identify how many are registered voters.
A March poll by the South African Institute of Race Relations (IRR), which surveyed 1,038 registered voters, found 70% agreed politicians use racism and colonialism to excuse failures, including 67% of Black respondents. In the same survey, 44% said they had personally experienced racism.
The City of Johannesburg’s 2026/27 budget speech put the combined renewal backlog at Johannesburg Water, City Power and the Johannesburg Roads Agency above R185 billion, against a capital budget of R8.8 billion. The city cited weak revenue collection, divided accountability, insufficient investment and governance failures among factors affecting its utilities. Its audited accounts reported non-revenue water of 44.79% for the year ended June 30, 2025, including physical losses, commercial losses and authorized but unbilled use.
The Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa recorded 45.59% of the national local-election vote for the ANC in 2021, compared with 21.62% for the DA. Results from Wednesday’s vote will establish the balance of seats on Johannesburg’s council.
