ANC Holds National Lead, But Heads For Worst-Ever Municipal Result
JOHANNESBURG – With 87% of voting districts counted in South Africa’s local government elections, the African National Congress (ANC) remains in front nationally, but it is heading for its worst-ever municipal result.
The party has fallen from the 45.59% it won in the 2021 municipal elections to 31.73%, according to the latest provisional results from the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).
The Democratic Alliance (DA) is second on 24.0%, up from 21.7% in 2021, cementing its position as the main opposition at local level.
Former President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, contesting local government elections for the first time, is third nationally on 9.4%, ahead of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) on 5.0%.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have fallen sharply, from 10.3% in 2021 to around *6.2%*, while ActionSA is on about 4.8%.
So far, 5,285 of 8,825 council seats have been declared. The ANC has won 2,306 seats, the DA 1,003, MKP 488, and the IFP 324.
Metros tell a different story.
While the ANC leads nationally, it is losing the cities.
The DA is leading in six of South Africa’s eight metros: Cape Town, Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Nelson Mandela Bay and Mangaung.
In Johannesburg, the country’s economic hub, the DA is on about 40.5%, followed by the ANC on 17.3% and ActionSA on 15.5%. In Cape Town, the DA is on course to retain an outright majority with more than 60%.
The MK Party is leading in eThekwini (Durban) with about 43.4%, well ahead of the DA on 21.0% and the ANC on 17.1%. The ANC is only leading in one metro – Buffalo City in the Eastern Cape, where it has 42.1%.
Projections suggest most of the big metros, except Cape Town, will end up as hung councils, with coalition talks deciding who governs.
What it means.
If the current trend holds, the ANC will be down about 14 percentage points from 2021, which was already its worst municipal showing in history.
The party has been punished by voters over failing water and electricity services, high crime and unemployment, and corruption scandals, analysts say.
The IEC is expected to announce the final official results on Sunday, 8 November. It has until Wednesday, 11 November, to declare them by law..
The results remain provisional and could still shift slightly as the final districts, many in the big metros with long ballot papers, are counted and verified.
