ANC Posts Worst Local Election Result Ever, Winning 31 Percent

South Africa's African National Congress recorded its worst result ever in local elections, winning 31 percent of the vote, according to Al Jazeera. The party that led the country out of apartheid remains the largest nationally, but it lost its lead in Johannesburg, Pretoria and the Ekurhuleni municipality, and now has 14 days to negotiate coalitions before city councils are formed.

ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula called the results catastrophic. Wednesday's vote appeared to confirm a long decline driven by anger over corruption scandals and poor public services, Al Jazeera reported.

How the vote broke down

The ANC took 31 percent, against about 25 percent for its main rival, the Democratic Alliance (DA). The DA also kept control of Cape Town, South Africa's second-biggest city.

The result is a steep fall from the 46 percent the ANC won in the 2021 local elections and from 66 percent in 2006. In 1994, the first democratic election, under Nelson Mandela, the party won 63 percent. In 2024 it lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in a national election, ending 30 years of dominance and producing a coalition national government.

The DA has tried to shed a reputation as a party for white South Africans, a label it rejects. Based on its own modeling, the party said it won the votes of more than one million Black South Africans for the first time.

The elections chose councillors for the country's eight biggest cities, 44 district municipalities and 205 local municipalities.

Why voters turned away from the ANC

Analysts told Al Jazeera that voters were rebuking the party over irregular water supply, electricity outages, dilapidated roads, broken street lights and uncollected refuse.

Political commentator Ralph Mathekga said voters now see the ANC as the main culprit behind the problems rather than the solution, and called the election a referendum on its ability to govern. Sandile Mnguni, a political science lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, said the party can no longer rely on its liberation history to keep voters' confidence.

Analysts also described the result as a personal rebuke of President Cyril Ramaphosa, who also leads the ANC. Commentator Sipho Seepe said voters had given the party chances and were now saying no more. Al Jazeera noted that Ramaphosa has been implicated in the Farmgate scandal. In 2020, burglars broke into his private ranch and stole $580,000 hidden in furniture. He was accused of covering up the theft and keeping the search for the burglars private to avoid questions about the money's origin.

What happens next: coalition talks

Because no party won more than 50 percent in many cities, the ANC and DA must either join forces or bargain with smaller parties to form municipal governments. Parties have 14 days to negotiate before councils are formed.

A deal between the ANC and DA would resemble their arrangement in the national government over the past two years, but the two disagree on key issues, including how to tackle inequalities left by apartheid. The DA said in a statement it would start talks with parties committed to clean and accountable government, fighting corruption, service delivery for all, the rule of law and non-racialism. Al Jazeera read this as a sign the DA may avoid an agreement with the ANC.

Ramaphosa urged parties to approach negotiations with humility and not let political scores or petty squabbles override people's interests. He is expected to step aside as ANC leader ahead of the party's 2027 leadership contest and the 2029 general election, according to Al Jazeera.

Why it matters for South Africans

City councils run the services that voters blamed for their anger, including water, electricity, roads and refuse collection. Who governs Johannesburg, Pretoria and Ekurhuleni will depend on the outcome of the coalition talks.

Analysts said the vote confirms South Africa is moving from one-party dominance toward a more plural political system. Seepe said coalitions should now be accepted as the new normal. Al Jazeera noted that this could bring some political instability.

Read next
Data Centers Become a Midterm Fight as Voters Weigh Tax Breaks Against Local Costs
Midterm Election Night Guide: Which Races Decide Control of Congress and When Polls Close
Israel Election by the Numbers: Turnout, Exit Polls and the 61-Seat Test

Around Prague, based on reporting by Al Jazeera