South Africa’s third richest person ‘secretly’ leads the presidential race
Billionaire Patrice Motsepe is leading the ANC’s presidential race despite saying that he was not interested in leading the party or country.
This is feedback from Dr Frans Cronje, who is involved with The Social Research Foundation, which does polling and reports on South African political issues.
He shared data during a presentation at a State of the Nation event that Motsepe was leading other ANC candidates to replace Cyril Ramaphosa.
South African voters were asked who their preferred candidate was to succeed Cyril Ramaphosa as the leader of the ANC.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, Motsepe led with 23%, followed by Fikile Mbalula with 19% and Paul Mashatile with 13%.
“What was striking is that this result came when voters did not think that Motsepe was a candidate for the ANC presidency,” he said.
In March 2026, a campaign website was launched called PM27, promoting Patrice Motsepe for the 2027 ANC leadership.
“The PM27 Campaign champions Patrice Motsepe as the most credible, unifying, and visionary leader to guide the ANC and South Africa,” it stated.
The campaign calls on all South Africans to rally behind Motsepe as a leader who embodies unity, progress, and ethical governance.
“The idea of him being a candidate for ANC president became something the public thought about,” Cronje said.
This sent Motsepe’s support to 39% in Q1 2026, well ahead of other candidates like Mbalula on 14% and Mashatile on 12%.
The support was even stronger among ANC voters, with 47% supporting Motsepe to succeed Ramaphosa, well ahead of Mbalula on 19% and Mashatile on 16%.
“If his team sees their way through the ANC’s electoral conference in December of 2027, then he is likely the candidate. He will win,” Cronje said.
The chart below, shared by Cronje during his presentation, showed the strong support for Patrice Motsepe as the new ANC president.
Patrice Motsepe has the ability to take the difficult decisions
Cronje said the ANC needs Motsepe to revive it, and polling data from ANC voters confirms that they feel the same way.
To date, the PM26 campaign has all happened secretly behind the scenes. “Put a serious campaign behind him, and the numbers will rise much further,” he said.
Cronje said they believe Motsepe can make difficult decisions to drive South Africa forward and improve people’s lives.
“He will take the ANC under his management. He will make the decisions relatively easily that raise the investment rate to near 20%,” Cronje said.
“As a consequence, South Africa’s economic growth rate will easily lift to between 2% and 3%, and between 4% and 5% beyond that.”
This economic growth will see significant job creation, lower unemployment, and a general improvement in people’s lives.
This, in turn, can help the ANC to gain support among voters. “He can easily take the ANC back above 50%,” Cronje said.
Cronje added that this scenario made him optimistic about South Africa’s prospects over the next 20 to 30 years.
Patrice Motsepe denies he is running for ANC President
Motsepe has consistently denied plans to run for ANC president, saying he does not have to be president to contribute to South Africa.
“A few years ago, the editors of the major newspapers asked me whether I was going to get involved in politics,” he said.
“My answer was always that I don’t have to get into politics to make a contribution to this country and to fulfil my duty to the people.”
Speaking at the results announcement of his company, African Rainbow Minerals, he dismissed rumours linked to his ANC presidential campaign.
“I will continue to, as I have in the past, work with all political parties across the board,” Motsepe said.
He also emphasised his commitment to his family foundation and his role as the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Despite his denials, he remains included in public polls because supporters believe he could still be persuaded.
The PM27 website also remains live, which shows that there is support for Motsepe to become the ANC President in 2027.
Patrice Motsepe CAF photos
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