The ANC recorded its worst result in local elections since the end of apartheid, winning 30.76% of the national vote, the BBC reported. The party still won the most votes of any party.
Its share fell by about a third from the 46% it won in 2021. Twenty years ago, the ANC won 64.82% of the vote in local elections.
“This has been a very catastrophic outcome for the ANC,” ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said on Saturday. “We knew this disaster is coming, we’re staring at it.”
Mbalula said the cost of living was too high as people went to the polls. He said the middle class had turned against the ANC in large numbers.
The ANC won a majority in only one of the nine provinces, Limpopo. In 2021 it won a majority in six. It also won the most votes in just two of the eight big cities, down from six at the last local elections.
The DA came second with 24.64% and kept majority control of Cape Town. Former president Jacob Zuma’s MK party came third with 9.76% and replaced the ANC as the winner in Durban.
The EFF, led by Julius Malema, came fourth with 6.22% of the vote.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, who leads the ANC, spoke as he arrived at the results centre. “We accept the will of the people however concerning it might be,” he said. He said the ANC accepted the verdict “with humility” and called the drop in support concerning.
The DA did well in the cities, but its total share grew only a little from 21.83% in 2021. That is still below the 26.9% it won in 2016.
Voter turnout was 52.29%. This was up from 45.9% in 2021, when the elections took place during the Covid pandemic.
Political analyst Susan Booysen said the result sent “a devastating message to the ANC”. She linked the drop in support to poor service delivery, including water, power and sanitation. “These are huge problems,” Booysen said.
Political analyst William Gumede said the ANC could become the second biggest party by 2029. “It is sort of the end of the liberation movement era in South Africa,” he said.
Gumede also said the DA had won more black votes than before. “We’re moving towards a post-racial voting pattern in South Africa,” he said.
The ANC lost its national majority for the first time in 2024. It then formed the government of national unity with several other parties. The party will choose a new leader next year as Ramaphosa reaches the end of his term.
Coalition talks will now follow in many councils. The three Gauteng metros are being watched closely, and the ANC may be left out in Johannesburg and Pretoria. Parties have 14 days from the announcement of results to agree on coalitions.
Source: this article is based on reporting by BBC. Image: BBC. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice News desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Kgomotso Maake covers news and politics for Tzaneen Voice. Kgomotso reports on government, Parliament, municipalities, courts, crime and service delivery across South Africa, with a close eye on how national decisions reach towns like Tzaneen and the wider Limpopo province. Stories are written in plain English and focus on the facts: who made the decision, what it means, and what happens next.