South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) has recorded its worst result in local elections, more than three decades after Nelson Mandela’s party led the country out of apartheid and into democratic rule.
Although the ANC remains the country’s largest party, Wednesday’s vote appeared to confirm that it is locked in a downward spiral amid long-running anger over corruption scandals and poor service delivery.
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Elections were held to choose local government councilors who govern South Africa’s eight largest cities as well as its 44 districts and 205 local municipalities. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula described the results of the vote as “catastrophic”.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is also president of the ANC, said political parties should approach upcoming political negotiations to form coalitions for local power with humility. “The interests of our people should not be drowned out by the quest of political parties or representatives to settle political scores or petty quarrels,” he said.
What are the voting results?
The ANC won 31 percent of the vote, compared to around 25 percent for its main rival, the Democratic Alliance (DA).
The DA has sought to shed its historic reputation as a “white party”, a label it rejects. The party said it had won the votes of more than a million black South Africans for the first time, based on its modeling.
The ANC lost its position as the largest party to the DA in the economic hub of Johannesburg, the capital Pretoria, and in the large municipality of Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg. The DA also retained control of South Africa’s second largest city, Cape Town.
Although the ANC remained the largest party in terms of vote share, the results represent a sharp drop from the 46 percent it received in the 2021 local vote and less than half the vote share the party had two decades ago: 66 percent in 2006.
In 2024, it lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in a national election, leading to the formation of a national coalition government and a seismic shift in South African politics with the end of 30 years of ANC rule.
South Africa held its first democratic elections in 1994, when the ANC won 63 percent of the vote under Mandela’s leadership. Shortly afterwards, he was appointed South Africa’s first black president.
Sandile Mnguni, professor of political science and international relations at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, said “the decline in electoral support should serve as a clear warning that the party can no longer rely on its historic political dominance or liberation credentials to retain voter confidence.”
“If the underlying grievances of the electorate are not addressed, the party could face even greater electoral challenges,” he told Al Jazeera.
What does this vote mean for the ANC?
Since no party won more than 50 percent of the vote in many cities, the ANC and DA must partner or compete with smaller parties to form city governments. The parties have 14 days to negotiate before the formation of municipal councils.
A partnership between the ANC and DA would mirror a deal they struck in national government over the past two years, but the two are ideologically opposed on key issues, such as how to address the deep economic and social inequalities left by apartheid.
The DA will ensure a partnership with the ANC, which analysts say has been harshly reprimanded by voters this election due to problems with basic services such as erratic water, power outages, dilapidated roads, broken streetlights and uncollected waste.
Ramaphosa was also punished for being implicated in a corruption scandal known as “Farmgate” after burglars broke into his luxury private ranch in 2020 and stole $580,000 hidden in furniture. The president was accused of covering up the theft and keeping efforts to track down the burglars confidential in an effort to avoid an investigation into where the money came from.
South African author and political commentator Ralph Mathekga told Al Jazeera that the vote sent a “strong message” to the ANC “that the collapse of service delivery and resulting corruption has reached a point where it cannot be tolerated”.
Mathekga said voters no longer see the party as the solution to the problems faced by South Africans, but as the “main culprit”.
“The elections were clearly a referendum on the ANC’s ability to govern and deliver,” he said.
South African political analyst and columnist Sipho Seepe said the vote was also a personal rebuke to Ramaphosa, who sought to present himself as a politically savvy and business-oriented party leader but who has continually been accused of underperformance.
“It has been a total disaster, and this time people have made it very clear,” Seepe told Al Jazeera. “People gave him (the ANC) a chance, and (now) they are not saying more.”
The DA hinted it would avoid any deal with the ANC when it said in a statement it would begin coalition discussions with “political parties that share a commitment to clean and accountable government, which eradicates corruption, service delivery for all, the rule of law and non-racism”.
Ramaphosa is expected to step down as party leader ahead of the 2027 ANC leadership race and the country’s next general election in 2029.
What does this vote mean for South Africa?
Local elections have ramifications for South African politics beyond local government.
Analysts say the vote confirms that the country is moving away from one-party rule and toward political plurality. “Now we can accept that coalitions are the new normal,” Seepe said.
While this could lead to some political instability, the analyst said it could push parties to prioritize performance once in power. “The ANC government has been stable, but it has failed the people,” he said, stressing that meeting the needs of the electorate is now seen as more urgent than political continuity.
Mathekga, author of the book The ANC’s Last Decade, said voters have made it clear they “don’t want a concentration of power in one party.”
“Coalitions are here to stay, perhaps until political parties demonstrate that they can be trusted with the power to form a government themselves,” Mathekga said, describing the change as a “necessary evolution of South African politics”.
Mnguni, of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, acknowledged that South Africa appeared willing to trade a little less political stability in exchange for greater accountability.
“Of course, there may be cases of political impasse, unstable alliances and disagreements that delay important municipal decisions (and) these risks should not be underestimated,” he said.
“However, I see the broader transition as an opportunity for South Africa’s democratic development, provided that political parties demonstrate political maturity and place governance above narrow partisan interests.”
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