Pollsters Ipsos have predicted that South Africa’s ruling ANC will win another landslide victory in Wednesday’s general election, handing Jacob Zuma another presidential term.
The firm on Friday predicted that the African National Congress, which has won every general election in South Africa’s 20 years of democracy, will garner around 63 percent of the vote.
While comprehensive that would be just short of the two thirds majority needed to change the country’s constitution and a slight drop from the 65.9 percent won in 2009.
“There is no doubt about which party will win the election,” Ipsos said, releasing its final poll before the May 7 vote.
“However, this is still the most hotly contested election since 1994.”
Ipsos — which polled 3,730 people in February and March — said that in some provinces the ANC would see its lead eroded.
Ipsos predicted the opposition Democratic Alliance would get 22 percent of the vote, up nearly six percentage points from the last election and would retain control of the Western Cape, which includes Cape Town.
The party is also seen doing well in Gauteng — which includes Johannesburg and Pretoria — and the Northern Cape getting more than 25 percent in each.