There is growing disillusionment and frustration with democracy by South Africans as reflected in the low levels of confidence in political leaders and public institutions. This was said on Wednesday by senior research associate at the Institute of Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) Kate Lefko Everett at a media briefing on the release of the IJR’sSouth African Reconciliation Barometer(Sarb). The findings of the survey conducted for the barometer echo those of the one conducted by Afrobarometer which found that 49% of all South Africans would prefer a military regime to a civilian government in power, a rise from the 28% support in 2022.
However, 49% believed democracy was preferable to other government systems. Seven out of 10 South Africans were dissatisfied with the way democracy functions in the country, the Afrobarometer survey found. Afrobarometer Southern African project leader Preston Govindsamy explained there is a dichotomy between confidence in the format of democracy and in the players within that format.
“There seems to be a continued and growing restlessness about the way democracy is run in the country compared to the actual concept of democracy,” he said. IJR senior research fellow professor Rajen Govender similarly noted the disjuncture between people having much more confidence in the idea of a government of national unity (GNU) and much less confidence in political leaders. The barometer finds low levels of confidence in political leaders and political institutions, including political parties.
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Confidence in public institutions also remain low with the lowest being in local government (26%) and in deputy president Paul Mashatile (25%). Confidence in President Cyril Ramaphosa stands at 33%. Lefko Everett noted trust and confidence in public institutions is an important indicator of how well a democracy is functioning.
The results of the survey suggest that the 2026/27 local government elections may take place in a similar climate of discontent. Levels of public confidence in political parties were found to be universally low. Half or more of all South Africans expressed little or no confidence in the ANC (50%), DA (54%), MK (54%) or EFF (53%) while 78% believed that leaders could not be trusted to do the right thing most of the time. “Many South Africans felt that national leaders neither listen to nor act in the interests of ordinary people,” the barometer says.
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