futurefact finds – Presidential Contenders
The government has confirmed that Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s will stand down as African Union chairperson in July. She along with Cyril Ramaphosa and Baleka Mbete (and possibly Gwede Mantashe) have been mooted as the main candidates to take over from President Zuma when he moves on.
Over recent years confidence in President Zuma has plummeted from a score of 248 in 2009 to -46 by the end of 2015 (see futurefact finds). In keeping with the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) ruling, futurefact found that 80% of South Africans agreed that President Zuma should pay back the money for Nkandla and, unlike President Zuma, the ConCourt has the confidence of the public (75% of South Africans and a confidence score of 208).
However, neither the President nor the ANC appear to be listening to the wishes of South Africans. futurefact finds that almost 9 out of 10 believe the government shows little concern for what its citizens think of it and 8 out of 10 that it has ‘forgotten about people like me’.
So when President Zuma’s term is over (for whatever reason) who would South Africans like to see as the next president and which candidate enjoys their confidence?
futurefact finds that when respondents were presented with a list of possible candidates for the next President of South Africa, Ramaphosa and Dlamini-Zuma tied for the top position. But, when levels of confidence in these two leaders are taken into consideration, Dlamini-Zuma came out well ahead of her rival. Furthermore 89% of South Africans (87% of males and 91% of females) said they would have no problem voting for a woman president.