Johannesburg — ALTHOUGH the African National Congress (ANC) continues to garner the most support for the upcoming elections, a survey by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) puts the ruling party's support at 47%.

This figure is very low compared with the 70%-75% of the vote the ruling party wants to obtain at the April 22 poll, or even the 69% it got in the previous national election. However, it is likely to increase as many respondents were not sure who they would vote for, and many refused to answer the question.

The annual South African Attitudes Survey, conducted in December, showed that the Democratic Alliance (DA) appeared to be on track to remain the official opposition with 7% of the electorate saying they would make their mark for it , and the Congress of the People (COPE) were looking at 3%. They were ahead of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) with 2% and the Independent Democrats (ID) with 1%.

The figures are similar to results released by the Afrobarometer earlier this month. It placed the ANC at 45%, the DA at 6%, COPE at 4%, and the IFP and the ID both at 1%.

The HSRC poll revealed that more than half of the electorate in five provinces -- Limpopo, Mpumalanga, the North West, the Eastern Cape and the Free State -- indicated that they would vote for the ANC.

The Western Cape was evenly contested between the ANC and opposition parties and KwaZulu- Natal remained an IFP stronghold.

Support for the ANC was particularly strong among women (50%), compared with 45% of men, as well as those with no schooling (63%) decreasing gradually with an increase in education qualifications (26% for people with degrees ).

A total of 12% of the respondents indicated that they would not vote, 13% were uncertain who they would vote for and 12% refused to answer.

"The tally for the ANC may go up. Some people make up their minds closer to the time. The fact that the elections are not immediate gives people time to reflect," HSRC democracy and governance specialist Mcebisi Ndletyana said.

Meanwhile, the ANC launched a weekly comic series yesterday that would appear in the Daily Sun every Tuesday until the elections.

"The comic series is the latest in a number of platforms that portray the lives of ordinary South Africans. It will look at what has been achieved since the dawn of democracy, but also what still needs to be done, and the challenges that people face," ANC spokeswoman Jessie Duarte said.

The first strip, published yesterday, looked at unemployment in SA and the global financial crisis.