ANC Falls Below 33% in South Africa Local Vote as Municipal Wins Drop to 53
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Nov 10
ANC Falls Below 33% in South Africa Local Vote as Municipal Wins Drop to 53
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Nov 10
Summary
Less than a third of voters backed South Africa’s ANC in last week’s local elections, its worst municipal showing on record and another sign of the party’s shrinking dominance.
53 municipalities were won outright by the ANC, down from 122 in 2021 and 161 in 2016, leaving it likely to rely on coalitions across many councils it still controls.
30%-plus support still kept the ANC the largest party with 3,282 council seats, but the Democratic Alliance took more than 24% and 1,722 seats, beating the ANC in Johannesburg and Tshwane while holding Cape Town.
40% in the 2024 national election had already forced the ANC into a coalition government, and local voters again punished it over corruption, crime, unemployment and failing services such as power, water and trash collection.
Can the ANC survive this catastrophic defeat by reforming from within, or is this the final collapse of Mandela's liberation party?
Will South Africa's unprecedented shift to coalition politics finally fix failing municipal services, or just trigger more chaotic political infighting?
With no single party in control, who will truly pull the strings in South Africa's most powerful and economically vital cities?