DA deploys Zille in bid to seize Joburg as ANC fights for urban survival in 2026 local government elections
South Africa’s 2026 municipal elections are shaping up as a critical battleground for control of the nation’s major economic hubs, with the ANC battling to reverse its decline and a fragmented opposition seeking to consolidate gains.
The contest in Johannesburg has taken centre stage, with the DA deploying former leader Helen Zille to challenge ANC Mayor Dada Morero. The high-stakes race, framed as “From Dada to Gogo,” sees the DA leading in polls, capitalising on deep public frustration over service delivery and corruption.
The campaign features an unprecedented element: the Ukrainian Association of South Africa (UAZA) is mobilising resources to support the DA in key metros. This first-of-its-kind diaspora involvement is raising questions about political funding regulations.
Elsewhere, the political landscape is fracturing. The uMkhonto weSizwe Party is aggressively targeting eThekwini (Durban) to take it from the ANC. In Ekurhuleni, ActionSA is promoting crime-fighter Xolani Khumalo to build its profile. The DA, meanwhile, is defending its long-held Cape Town stronghold and promoting its governance as a national model.
Coalition instability remains a wild card. In Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay, neither the ANC nor the DA appears poised for an outright majority, setting the stage for volatile post-election negotiations influenced by smaller parties.
Following historic losses in the 2024 national elections, analysts describe the upcoming municipal vote as an existential fight for the ANC. Its ability to reclaim urban ground is seen as crucial to halting a further erosion of its political dominance.