Zuma’s MK party set to be eThekwini’s biggest party as ANC struggles

With just a month left until local government elections, Jacob Zuma’s MK party appears to be tightening its grip on eThekwini, with a new voter poll suggesting it is on course to emerge as the metro’s dominant political force.

According to a survey commissioned as part of News24’s Elections Poll ’26 project, voter sentiment has shifted dramatically in KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) largest municipality, where the ANC has traditionally enjoyed strong support.

Findings

The findings indicate that the MK party has established a sizeable lead over its rivals in eThekwini, with support driven largely by voters backing former president Jacob Zuma’s political movement.

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The poll also suggests the ANC is struggling to retain its voter base in one of its most important urban strongholds.

Political analysts have increasingly identified eThekwini as a key battleground in the run-up to the 4 November municipal elections, given its strategic importance and history as an ANC-controlled metro.

ANC struggling

The survey’s results raise the prospect of a major political realignment in the city if current voter trends are reflected at the ballot box. While the ANC remains a significant player, the latest polling suggests it faces an uphill battle to reverse declining support levels.

Meanwhile, opposition parties including the DA and IFP continue campaigning to expand their support, although neither currently matches the MKP’s momentum in the metro, according to the poll.

With campaigning entering its final stretch, the latest figures suggest eThekwini could become one of the defining contests of the 2026 local government elections, with the MK party seeking to convert growing support into control of one of South Africa’s most influential metros.

Crook

As political parties intensify their election campaign ahead of the 4 November local government election, Zuma took a swipe at President Cyril Ramaphosa, saying the country is being “run by a crook who has not done anything for the people.”

There is no love lost between Zuma and Ramaphosa, with the political tensions between the duo having played out publicly through sharp rhetorical exchanges, high-stakes court battles and Zuma’s eventual break from the ANC to lead the MK party.

Zuma not going anywhere

Last week, Zuma said he had no intention of stepping away from public life, declaring that he still has “time on this earth” and wants to help change South Africa before he dies.

“I have told some people that they should be happy because I still have time on this earth; I do not have time to go, no. How can we depart and leave this country in these conditions?” Zuma said. “I am not going anywhere; I will remain right where I am.”

Unity

The former president also called for unity among black South Africans, saying past injustices should not prevent people from working together.

“Many bad things were done to us, but because we are not people with bad hearts, we are at peace,” he said.

Zuma used the relaunch of the Jacob Gedleyihlekisa (JG) Zuma Foundation in Durban to highlight his long-standing passion for education, revealing that poverty and apartheid-era circumstances prevented him from completing his own schooling.