The ANC was on about ۳۲ percent of the vote after almost half of the votes were counted in municipal elections.
Published On ۵ Nov ۲۰۲۶
South Africa’s early municipal election results have shown the African National Congress (ANC) with a sharply reduced vote share, weakening the long-dominant party’s control of key cities such as Johannesburg.
The ANC was on about ۳۲ percent of the vote, with the Democratic Alliance (DA) in second place at ۲۵ percent, after more than ۶۰ percent of the votes had been counted in this week’s municipal elections, data from the election commission showed late on Thursday.
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Meanwhile, former President Jacob Zuma’s breakaway opposition uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party was in third place with ۸.۵ percent, below levels suggested by opinion polls.
About ۱۵.۹ million of ۲۹.۲ million registered voters cast ballots, the electoral commission said, putting turnout at an estimated ۵۴.۵ percent, up from ۴۶ percent in the pandemic-hit ۲۰۲۱ local elections.
The ANC, which has been South Africa’s largest party since it led the country out of apartheid in ۱۹۹۴, has tended to do worse in municipal elections than nationally and has acknowledged its failures in local governance.
From nearly ۷۰ percent of the national vote in ۲۰۰۴, the ANC fell below ۵۰ percent for the first time in the ۲۰۲۱ municipal elections, winning ۴۶ percent.
At the ۲۰۲۴ national elections, it managed just more than ۴۰ percent and was forced to accept a unity government with nine other parties, including the DA.
The party, now led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, has borne the brunt of criticism about years of municipal mismanagement that have left South Africans grappling with failing water supplies, persistent power cuts and crumbling public services.
It has also faced corruption allegations, while splinter parties have eaten away at its support base.
The results of this week’s local ballot will offer a key measure of voters’ sentiment ahead of the ۲۰۲۹ general election.
Control of the country’s eight major metropolitan municipalities is up for grabs, alongside dozens of district and local councils.
The MK party had been tipped as one of the few parties capable of securing an outright majority in the eastern port city of Durban.
But projections by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a state-funded research body, put its support there at ۳۲ percent.
The DA, meanwhile, was forecast to retain control of tourist magnet Cape Town with ۵۶ percent of the vote, with its leader, Geordin Hill-Lewis, already declaring victory.
The party was also leading with ۳۴ percent in Johannesburg, the country’s financial capital, after running a spirited campaign spearheaded by its former leader, Helen Zille, ۷۵, according to CSIR projections.
With outright majorities far from assured in several major cities, the results could usher in another round of complex coalition negotiations, with parties bargaining to assemble the alliances needed to govern.
Final results are expected on Sunday.
