When the ANC touts its election victories as evidence of overwhelming support, it is still on point, but opposition parties are closing the gap. Three Afrobarometer public opinion surveys on political parties, elections and institutional trust paint a complex, and shifting, picture. And while seven out of 10 South Africans believe elections are “always free and fair”, for the majority is seems “their power stops at the vote: once they have voted, there is no control over their representation”, according to surveys released this week. By MARIANNE MERTEN.

With a view to the local government elections on 3 August, one finding stands out: six out of 10 South Africans disapprove of how their councillors are doing their jobs. And councils ranked near the bottom end of the trust in democratic institutions at 35%, according to Afrobarometer Dispatches 90, entitled “In South Africa, citizens’ trust in president, political institutions drops sharply”.

Only President Jacob Zuma fared worse at 34%, a sharp drop from his 62% trust level recorded in 2011, and the lowest trust in a president recorded since the start of the surveys in 2000.

“Among 11 countries surveyed in southern Africa, Zuma has the second-lowest level of public trust,…

Source: Daily Maverick