For residents of Johannesburg, the daily evidence of a struggling city shows up long before any pollster arrives: taps that run dry, potholes that swallow tyres, streets dark at night. Now a new survey has given those lived frustrations a political shape. The eNCA Markdata 2026 election poll for Johannesburg, published at https://www.enca.com/news-shows/enca-markdata-election-survey-johannesburg-results-are, finds that 40,7% of respondents believe the municipality has been extremely badly run over the past five years, while a further 28,0% say it has not been well run. Fewer than one in ten, just 7,9%, think it has been very well run, and 21,3% rate it as only averagely well run. Two percent did not know.
When residents were asked who is mainly to blame for the poor condition of many of South Africa’s big cities, where problems over water, electricity, sewage, potholes and poor services have piled up, the answer was overwhelming. 76,6% pointed to the ANC, against 8,0% naming the DA, 3,0% the EFF and 1,7% the MKP. Smaller parties drew 3,2%, and 7,5% said they did not know.
Voting intentions for the coming local elections tell a different, more fragmented story. The DA leads the field at 35,0%, more than a full margin ahead of the ANC on 21,8%. The MKP follows at 12,5%, with the EFF at 11,9%. ActionSA sits at 10,3%. Further down, the Patriotic Alliance registers 3,7%, the IFP 0,7%, the FF+ 0,9%, the ACDP 0,6%, Al Jama-ah 0,8% and Rise Mzansi 0,8%, with 1,0% opting for other parties.
Two questions probed how people feel the city itself has handled the essentials of everyday life. On water supply, 61,5% said the Mayor and the municipality are hopeless and that Johannesburg needs a different mayor and a different ruling majority. 32,1% countered that they have done as well as they could and deserve support, while 4,0% did not know. On key infrastructure such as electricity, roads and sewers, the verdict was similar: 63,0% said the leadership is hopeless and a new mayor and governing majority are needed, 31,1% said they have done as well as they could, and 3,5% did not know.
Meanwhile, the survey also turned to a rawer issue: recent agitation against foreign workers in Johannesburg, alongside violent attacks on foreigners in other parts of the country. Asked why there is a hostile feeling on this issue in the city, and allowed to choose only one reason, 38,5% of respondents said people in Johannesburg are losing faith in the government and believe they must take action on their own. Another 32,1% pointed to areas of the city dominated by foreigners, saying that control of the city has been lost. 17,4% believe Johannesburg residents are particularly angry about the issue, 9,6% said the question is wrong and there is not much hostile feeling towards foreigners in Johannesburg, and 2,5% did not know.
On the mayoral race, residents were asked who the ideal candidate would be to lead the metro after the elections. Helen Zille came first with 30,6%, followed by Herman Mashaba at 23,4%. Dada Morero, the incumbent at the center of the water and infrastructure verdicts, drew 15,0%. The remaining names polled in single figures: Loyiso Masuku at 3,9%, Bongani Baloyi at 3,7%, Kenny Kunene at 3,5%, Mlungisi Mabaso at 3,0%, Frank Chikane at 2,0%, Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster at 1,7%, Moshe Koma at 0,8% and Lukhona Mnguni at 0,6%. A further 10,8% chose other candidates.
Taken together, the numbers sketch a city where people already distrust the governance over their water, power and streets, yet remain divided over which direction to take. Support is scattered across parties even as blame lands almost entirely on one, and the search for new local leadership may end up being the deciding story of the 2026 vote in Johannesburg.