The poll, conducted from October to December last year, surveyed 3600 South Africans and asked them which party they would vote for if there were national and provincial elections the next day.

The results showed that the EFF could receive about 18% of the votes, making it the second-largest party after the ruling ANC and surpassing the DA as the official opposition. The poll is not definitive, but it indicates the electoral mood in the country.

The EFF welcomed the poll and expressed confidence that its support would increase after it launches its manifesto and begins its campaigns. The party's Treasurer-General, Omphile Maotwe, told the SABC that the party had not yet started its campaign and that it expected to gain more voters after reaching out to them across the country.

"We are only launching the manifesto now in February but the report that was conducted in December already says EFF is at 18% so effectively we have not started the campaign. The campaign is only going to start after Saturday, after we've launched the manifesto so can you imagine what's going to happen by the end of April once we've now gone through the entire country, province to province, region to region, ward to ward, street to street speaking to our people and telling them the commitments of the EFF. That number is going to go up. But we say to IPSOS, you are on the right track. That number is the correct number. IPSOS has not been wrong in its predictions. Of course, there's a margin of error but it's very, very minimal," Maotwe says.