South Africa's ANC records worst-ever result in local elections

Summarised from 3 outlets · 4 reports · Updated 9 Nov, 09:43 · Archive

South Africa's ANC won 31 per cent in municipal elections, its worst performance since democracy, down from 46 per cent in 2021.

South Africa's African National Congress has recorded its worst-ever result in local elections since the end of apartheid more than 30 years ago, winning 31 per cent of the vote. This represents a decline of roughly 14 percentage points from the 2021 local elections. The Democratic Alliance came second with 25 per cent, while former President Jacob Zuma's uMkhonto weSizwe party took third place with about 10 per cent.

Although the ANC remains the largest party nationally, it failed to win an outright majority in any of the eight major metropolitan areas. It won a majority in just one of the country's nine provinces, Limpopo, down from six in 2021. The party won the most votes in only two of eight cities, compared with six at the last local elections. The Democratic Alliance retained majority control of Cape Town, while the uMkhonto weSizwe party unseated the ANC in Durban.

Voters have expressed frustration with the ANC over its failure to address unemployment, which stands above 34 per cent, as well as widespread corruption and failures in basic services. Water and electricity shortages have particularly damaged the party's standing in local elections over the past 15 years.

ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula called the result "catastrophic" for the party. "We cannot ask the people to trust us merely because of our history," he said. President Ramaphosa acknowledged in his weekly letter that "municipal failures have contributed to declining public trust and confidence in democratic governance."

With no party winning more than 50 per cent in many cities including Johannesburg, South Africa's commercial hub, the ANC and other parties must now negotiate to form municipal governments. Political analyst Daniel Silke told the AFP news agency that the result was "the most severe" that the ANC would have feared. Parties have 14 days to negotiate before city councils are formed.

How it is being reported

• South Africa’s ANC suffers worst-ever local elections resultSouth Africa's ANC has suffered its worst-ever local elections result, securing just 30% of the vote.Al Jazeera · 9 Nov, 03:09
• 'Devastating message' as ANC records worst-ever result in South Africa electionPresident Cyril Ramaphosa says the verdict must be respected, while the party's secretary-general calls the outcome "catastrophic".BBC World · 8 Nov, 17:51
• South Africa’s ANC suffers setback in local electionsWith 99 percent of votes counted, President Cyril Ramaphosa's party wins 31 percent nationally.Al Jazeera · 8 Nov, 12:19
• South Africa elections: ANC marks its worst-ever performanceThe African National Congress, the party of late Nobel Prize winner Nelson Mandela, slumped to its worst-ever result in South Africa's municipal election. The voters blame the ANC for water and electricity shortages.DW News · 7 Nov, 18:07

In this story: African National Congress · Democratic Alliance · Cyril Ramaphosa · Jacob Zuma · Nelson Mandela · South Africa · Johannesburg · Cape Town

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log