April 04, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Two-in-five South Africans believe a victory by a well-known politician in the next presidential election would be detrimental, according to a poll by TNS Research Surveys. 40 per cent of respondents think former deputy president Jacob Zuma of the ruling African National Council (ANC) would bring disaster to the country, while 41 per cent disagree.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Two-in-five South Africans believe a victory by a well-known politician in the next presidential election would be detrimental, according to a poll by TNS Research Surveys. 40 per cent of respondents think former deputy president Jacob Zuma of the ruling African National Council (ANC) would bring disaster to the country, while 41 per cent disagree.

Thabo Mbeki replaced Nelson Mandela as South Africa’s president after the 1999 general election, where the ANC received 66.4 per cent of the vote. Mbeki led the ANC to a second majority government in April 2004, with 69.68 per cent of all cast ballots and 279 lawmakers in the 400-seat National Assembly.

Zuma—currently the ANC president—served as the country’s deputy president from 1999 to 2005. In May 2006, Zuma was acquitted of a rape charge in a Johannesburg high court. Zuma claims he had a consensual sexual relationship with the 31-year-old daughter of a friend, and alleged he was "seduced" by the way the woman was wearing her clothes.

On Mar. 31, University of South Africa president Barney Pityana expressed concerns over Zuma’s eventual victory in the 2009 election, saying, "To many of us, Jacob Zuma, popularly elected by the branch delegates at Polokwane in December 2007, remains a flawed character in his moral conduct; he has been indicted for serious crimes that involve corruption and dishonesty. So far he does not encourage confidence in his understanding of policy, appearing as he does in the short-term to be making policy pronouncements on the hoof depending on who he wishes to appease at any one moment."

Polling Data

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? - "If Jacob Zuma becomes president in 2009, it will bring disaster to South Africa."

Agree	40%
Disagree	41%
Not sure	19%

Source: TNS Research Surveys
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 2,000 South African adults in seven major metropolitan areas, conducted in February 2008. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.