South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) has recorded historically poor electoral results, with the final tally released on Sunday giving it less than 31% of the vote in Wednesday’s municipal elections.
Their main rival, the Democratic Alliance (DA), won just under 25% of the vote.
The ANC also lost its majority in six of eight metropolitan regions, the South African Electoral Commission announced on Saturday. With no outright winner declared in several major cities, politicians are expected to begin difficult coalition talks to form municipal governments.
ANC secretary-general calls result ‘catastrophic’
Although the ANC remains the country’s most popular party, it faces a growing backlash from voters. Many South Africans are frustrated by water and electricity shortages, with the ANC blamed for the poor state of municipalities. High unemployment, crime and widespread corruption are high on the public agenda.
ANC leader and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has yet to address his party’s poor performance. In his weekly presidential letter, however, he admitted that “municipal failures have contributed to the decline of public confidence in democratic governance.”
On Saturday, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula told journalists that the ANC must work to regain public trust.
“We cannot ask people to trust us just because of our history,” Mbalula said.
“It was a very catastrophic outcome for the ANC… Even though we are the largest party, it was catastrophic for the movement,” he added.
ANC sees steady decline in voter numbers
The ANC governed with an absolute majority for most of its history until the 2024 general elections caused it to lose an absolute parliamentary majority for the first time in South Africa’s democratic era.
“This is the most serious outcome the ANC could have feared,” political analyst Daniel Silke told AFP on Friday.
“This is the ANC’s worst result in history,” Silke said, adding that the result would undermine the ANC’s ability to exercise authority at local and national levels. The results could also provide insight into voter sentiment ahead of the 2029 general election.
Once led by Nelson Mandela, the country’s first black president and Nobel Prize winner, the ANC was instrumental in ending apartheid and took power in 1994 after South Africa became a democracy.
But over the past decade, its results have steadily deteriorated from one election to the next. In 2024, the ANC received just over 40% in the 2024 national elections and 46% in the previous 2021 municipal elections.
After losing the absolute majority in 2024, the ANC formed a multi-party national unity government with all parties represented in Parliament, which is still in power.
The ANC’s decline comes amid disillusionment with corruption, mismanagement and high unemployment. Smaller parties have also emerged in the South African political landscape, thereby reducing the ANC’s electoral base.
DA opposition holds major cities
The business-friendly centre-right DA is expected to retain control of Cape Town after winning an absolute majority. He also performed well in the capital, Pretoria, and the economic hub of Johannesburg, and is expected to form coalitions excluding the ANC.
“All the cuts and pressures that accompanied the election are now over, and it’s time now… to put in place governments that can actually fix these cities,” DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis told reporters.
“We have already contacted many parties over the past 24 hours and will continue to do so today,” he said.
Gn world
