Illustrative photo via Pexels
South Africa’s African National Congress has suffered the worst election result in its history, winning only around a third of the national vote in this month’s local government elections, according to official results reported by the Associated Press, Al Jazeera and Africanews.
The figure is roughly 14 to 15 percentage points below the party’s 2021 local election performance of about 45%, and a far cry from the roughly 70% it once commanded. The Democratic Alliance came second, while former president Jacob Zuma’s MK Party finished third with close to 10%.
Analysts and voters pointed to anger over failing water and electricity services, corruption, and unemployment above 34% as drivers of the decline.
No party won an outright majority in any of the country’s eight metropolitan municipalities, and many councils are hung. Parties now have 14 days to negotiate coalitions before councils are formed. In Johannesburg, DA candidate Helen Zille, 75, is seen as the favourite for mayor, depending on how those talks unfold.
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula described the outcome as “very catastrophic” for the party. The vote covered 8 metros, 44 district and 205 local municipalities, with more than 500 parties taking part.
Sources: AP via NY1, Al Jazeera, Africanews. Photo: Pexels (illustrative).
