South Africa’s ANC on track for new lows in local polls

What the report says

South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) was headed for another poor showing in municipal elections, according to early results reported by Al Jazeera. With more than 60% of votes counted, the party was at about 32% nationally, well below the levels it once commanded and a sign of continued erosion in urban areas.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) was in second place at about 25%, while former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party trailed with 8.5%. The electoral commission said turnout was about 54.5%, or 15.9 million of 29.2 million registered voters, higher than in the 2021 local polls. Final results were expected on Sunday.

The results matter because control of eight major metropolitan municipalities is at stake, including Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. Projections cited in the report suggested the DA was on track to hold Cape Town and lead in Johannesburg, while MK was not performing as strongly as some polls had indicated in Durban. If no party wins outright majorities, coalition talks could again be needed to form local governments.

The ANC, which has governed nationally since 1994, has faced criticism over weak service delivery, infrastructure failures and corruption allegations. Its decline in local elections has been sharper than in national contests, and this vote is being watched as an early signal of voter sentiment ahead of the 2029 general election.