The African National Congress (ANC) is likely to win the 2009 general elections, with the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Congress of the People (Cope) in a close race to become the official opposition, according to a survey released on Friday.

The survey was conducted by Markinor between February and March this year, and a total of 3 531 people from all ethnic and age groups were interviewed.

"It is most likely that the ANC will win the general elections by a large majority, although their support seems to have decreased slightly since the 2004 general elections," said Markinor executive director Mari Harris.

She said 64,7% of people surveyed indicated they would vote for the ANC, although the figure did not give the ANC a two-thirds majority.

The DA beat Cope with 10,8% of voters compared to Cope's 8,9%.

"With the ANC obtaining the most support among likely voters, the race for the official opposition party will be contested between the DA and Cope," Harris said.

However, with the survey having been conducted six weeks ahead of the actual elections, and political parties currently intensifying their electioneering campaigns, people could still change their minds about how they were going to vote.

"At this stage of the race, these results cannot be considered a prediction of the actual election results. In this interim period leading up to the election, a considerable amount of campaigning will be conducted in order to sway the undecided voters," she said.

Those voters who were classified as undecided could either secure a two-thirds majority for the ANC, or boost the chances of the DA and Cope.

It had emerged during the survey that the majority of people interviewed indicated they would vote for the ANC, while the DA was the party of choice for white voters.