News24 | Elections Poll ’26 | The full picture

South Africa lacks frequent, independent and credible opinion polls. Polling is an expensive exercise and must be conducted with due consideration for methodological requirements to be useful. While some political parties regularly poll the electorate, the results are not publicly available. Market research firms sometimes tack political preference questions onto their omnibus surveys, but these are not confined to registered voters or modelled for electorate turnout.

News24 believes that providing credible data on voting intentions and issues affecting voters is a valuable service to the public and informs our reporting.

A poll is a survey among a representative sample of the population, in this case, a random sample weighted for demographic and other characteristics of the population.

Because it is representative, the results can be extrapolated to the wider population. All polls have a margin of error on either side of the result. The margin of error is related to the sample size. Therefore, a poll with a 3% margin of error purports to accurately reflect the general view within six percentage points.

A poll is not a projection or a prediction. It is a snapshot of sentiment at a particular point in time.

The methodology 

The News24 poll was conducted by the SABI Strategy Group among 5 001 registered voters between 25 August and 17 September 2026, primarily face-to-face using computer-assisted personal interviewing. The national sample is 1 000 respondents, with metro samples of 1 000 each in Johannesburg, Cape Town and eThekwini, and 1 001 in Tshwane. Samples were drawn using a simple random design and weighted to voter registration statistics for age, gender and location, as well as census-overlay estimates of racial composition. A turnout model set at 52% was applied, with each respondent assigned an individual probability-of-voting score.

National results have a margin of error of 3.2% at a 95% confidence level, with metro margins of error of 3.2% for Cape Town and Tshwane, 3.3% for Johannesburg and 3.4% for eThekwini. Design effects from weighting are 1.06 nationally and range from 1.04 to 1.2 across the metros.

Subgroup results are based on smaller samples and carry wider margins of error. Polls provide a snapshot of voting intentions at a particular point in time and should not be interpreted as a prediction or forecast of election results. Some figures have been rounded for analysis.

SABI Strategy Group is a research, communications and campaign advisory firm based in Johannesburg and London, specialising in in-depth quantitative and qualitative research and investigations across Africa.

SABI’s research team is led by Political Director Jonathan Moakes, who has a background at leading international opinion research consultancy GQR Research and has worked on research and strategy in more than twenty countries across five continents. He is supported by a team with extensive experience carrying out public opinion polling and investigations across sub-Saharan Africa, including in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Tanzania, Namibia, Angola, Malawi, Kenya and the DRC.

The findings 

While the electoral race will take place in municipalities, News24 also considered it useful to gauge the national temperature, examining sentiment across the country and the main issues that might swing the election. The national data also serves as an indication of how satisfied or dissatisfied people might be as they go into the election.

Joburg out of reach for Zille, exclusive News24/SABI poll shows

Helen Zille will not secure an outright win in Johannesburg and will have to depend on coalition partners – particularly the ANC – to breach the gap between 50% and the 36% support level at which she is polling.

The ANC is bleeding, but DA lacks the killer blow

The News24/SABI poll took the temperature of the electorate. These are the insights we gained

Johannesburg

Swipe or scroll for more results

Helen Zille leads a race nobody is winning outright

Helen Zille leads the Johannesburg mayoral race with 36%, but in a city where no party is viewed favourably, nobody is close to governing alone.

Cape Town

Swipe or scroll for more results

Cape Town voters bleak on SA, bright on their city

When it comes to the country’s direction, they’re in the Cape of Storms. But when it comes to their city’s direction, they’re in the Cape of Good Hope. A poll exclusive to News24 has shown how Capetonians feel.

eThekwini

Swipe or scroll for more results

Jacob Zuma’s MKP set to be eThekwini’s biggest party

The force that’s expected to sweep eThekwini voters away from the ANC is not the DA. It’s former president Jacob Zuma’s MK Party

Tshwane

Swipe or scroll for more results

The DA polls ahead of the ANC in Tshwane

The DA  beats the ANC in Tshwane with 32% of the vote compared to 24% if the local government elections were held tomorrow.

Explore the polling data

Read News24’s Election Coverage 

Your support affords us the time and resources to produce rich, in-depth journalism that matters.

_{News24 editor-in-chief: Adriaan Basson
News24 deputy editor: Ahmed Areff
News24 politics editor: Carol Paton
News24 deputy politics editors: Bongekile Macupe; Emsie Ferreira
Journalists: Alex Patrick; Jan Gerber; Amanda Khoza-Dlamini
Production editor: Hanlie Gouws
Multimedia: Wynand Louw; Luke Daniel
Subeditors: Fatima Schroeder; Hlengiwe Mnguni
Design: Sharlene Rood}

_{Image credits: Sharon Seretlo/Gallo Images; Getty Images; MirageC/Getty Images; Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images; Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images; capephotoshop/Getty Images; Wildacad/Getty Images Signature; Ihsaan Haffejee/Reuters; Siphesihle Mmusane/Gallo Images; Phill Magakoe / AFP; Luke Daniel/News24; Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters; David Rogers/Getty Images; Rogan Ward/Reuters; Hoberman Collection/Getty Images; Frennie Shivambu/Gallo Images; Lari Bat/iStock/Getty Images Plus; Rosetta Msimango/News24; Mihle Mdashe/News24; Yolanda Mdzeke/News24; Storm Simpson/News24.}