ANC Polling Slides Below 50% as Election Results Trickle In

LOCAL NEWS

• Polls are becoming more negative for the ANC after local election voting came to a close yesterday and results begin to trickle in this morning. Low voter turnout (roughly 30% of registered voters vs 57% in 2016) has hurt the ANC where smaller parties like ActionSA have made inroads, especially in Gauteng.
  • Overall, the CSIR forecasts ANC support at 46.8% - slipping below the 50% mark. Meanwhile, the DA looks set to hold onto Cape Town, but by a smaller margin and lose support overall with the EFF and smaller parties being the main beneficiaries. See elections result map here: https://www.news24.com/news24/elections/map/lge?ye...
• Petrol prices set for record increase of R1.21 & diesel by R1.48. This puts the inland petrol price over R19.50, pushing towards the R20.00 mark. Economists and analysts have warned that the petrol price will push over R20 by the end of the year
• Municipalities await a court decision to allow them to add a surcharge to bills for customers who buy their electricity directly from Eskom. This could see a sharp spike in electricity customers in townships and rural areas, impacting key industries like mining companies and farmers.
  • Historically, municipalities only distributed power within their borders, which did not include these areas. However, when wall-to-wall municipal borders were introduced, the adjustments for electricity were not made. As a result, people within the same municipality now pay different rates

Data:

• 0900GMT: Absa Manufacturing PMI exp at 55.8 vs 56.8 prior