South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has suffered a crushing blow in municipal elections, securing just 30.76 percent of the national vote and leaving President Cyril Ramaphosa’s party scrambling to retain control of key cities.
Footage shows Ramaphosa attending the official results announcement in Midrand, near Johannesburg, on Sunday, as the figures are displayed on a giant screen before he addresses the audience.
“Greater choice and more competition are the signs of a healthy democracy,” Ramaphosa said, adding, “At a time when democracy is under strain in many parts of the world, South Africans have shown once again that ours is a strong and enduring democracy.”
The main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) finished second with 24.64 percent of the vote, while former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party came third with 9.76 percent.
The ANC secured outright control of just 53 municipalities, down from 122 in 2021, dealing another major blow to the party that has dominated South African politics since the end of apartheid in 1994.
The result continues the ANC’s electoral decline after it lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in the 2024 national elections, forcing it to form a government of national unity with the DA and other parties.
With no party securing an outright majority in many municipal councils, political rivals now face tough coalition negotiations to determine who governs some of the country’s biggest cities.
In Johannesburg, where the DA emerged as the largest party, the ANC faces a particularly difficult battle to hold on to power.
The ANC and DA, already uneasy partners in the national coalition government, must now decide whether to work together at the local level or strike deals with smaller parties to secure control of key municipalities.
Source: Viory
