ANC Slumps to Worst-Ever Municipal Election Result as Coalition Talks Loom Across South Africa

The African National Congress (ANC), which has dominated South African politics since the end of apartheid, has recorded its lowest-ever electoral performance after securing 30.76 per cent of the vote in local municipal elections, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) declared on Sunday.
​The outcome marks a historic retreat for the liberation movement of the late Nelson Mandela, which captured nearly two-thirds of the national vote in South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994. Persistent double-digit unemployment—exceeding 34 per cent—alongside widespread corruption scandals, prolonged electricity blackouts, water shortages, and failing local municipal services heavily influenced voter turnout and choices on Wednesday.
​High-Stakes Gridlock in Key Metros
​With no single party securing an outright majority in over half of the country’s 213 municipal councils, political leaders are heading into complex multi-party coalition negotiations to establish local administrations across major urban hubs.
​Democratic Alliance (DA): The ANC’s main partner in the national unity government finished second nationally with roughly 25 per cent of the overall vote. The DA retained its outright majority in Cape Town and led the count in Johannesburg, where it fielded 75-year-old veteran politician Helen Zille.
​ActionSA: Led by former Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba, the centre-right party finished fifth nationally but is positioned as a pivotal kingmaker in several key metropolitan areas, including the administrative capital, Pretoria (Tshwane).
​Turnout and Irregularities
​Voter turnout reached 52 per cent—a six-percentage-point increase from the pandemic-impacted 2021 municipal elections—according to IEC Chairperson Mosotho Moepya.
​Moepya also confirmed that voting will be repeated in one municipality after party supporters stormed a local polling station and destroyed ballot papers during the voting process.
​ANC Leadership Responds
​Addressing reporters following the announcement, ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula openly conceded the severity of the loss, describing the outcome as “catastrophic”.
​”Where we have fallen short, this movement does not dispute it. Communities have gone without water. Refuse has not been collected. Roads have not been maintained,” Mbalula stated. “We have been weighed in the balance, and where we have been found wanting we dare not quarrel with the scale.”
​South African President Cyril Ramaphosa urged political parties to avoid prolonged paralysis during upcoming coalition talks, warning against holding basic public services hostage to political disagreements.
​”The people have spoken. Their verdict must be respected. Their concerns must be heard and their expectations must now be met,” Ramaphosa said.
​By South African law, newly elected municipal councils must hold their inaugural meetings within 14 days of the formal declaration of results to elect mayors, council speakers, and key executive office-bearers.