ANC Posts Worst-Ever Municipal Result as Water and Power Failures Hit Voters

The final count, published on Sunday, put the African National Congress at less than 31% of the vote in South Africa's municipal elections, held the previous Wednesday. It is the worst result in the history of the party that Nelson Mandela once led, and the party's own leadership has said so openly.

The Democratic Alliance, the ANC's closest rival, finished just under 25%. On Saturday, the Electoral Commission reported that the ANC had lost its majority in six of the country's eight metropolitan regions. In several major cities no party won outright, which means politicians now face difficult coalition negotiations to form municipal governments.

The ANC is still the most popular party in the country, but voters have been turning on it, and the reasons are close to home. Many South Africans in 2026 are frustrated by shortages of water and electricity, and they hold the ANC responsible for the poor condition of their municipalities. High unemployment, crime and widespread corruption are also high on the public agenda.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, who also leads the ANC, had not addressed the result directly. In his weekly presidential letter, though, he conceded that municipal failures have contributed to declining public trust and confidence in democratic governance. ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula was blunter when he spoke to reporters on Saturday. The party, he said, cannot ask people to trust it merely because of its history. He called the outcome very catastrophic for the movement, even as he acknowledged the ANC remains the largest party.

The slide did not start this week. The ANC governed with an absolute majority for most of its time in power, which began in 1994 when South Africa became a democracy, after the party played a central role in ending apartheid. Over the past decade it has done worse in one election after another. It took 46% in the 2021 municipal elections and just over 40% in the 2024 national vote. That 2024 result cost it its parliamentary majority for the first time in the democratic era, and it responded by forming a national unity government with all the parties represented in parliament. That government remains in office. Smaller parties have also emerged and cut into the ANC's voter base.

Political analyst Daniel Silke, speaking to the AFP news agency, called it the most severe result the ANC could have feared, and its worst in history. He said it will weaken the party's ability to exert authority at both local and national level. The vote may also serve as a bellwether of voter sentiment ahead of the 2029 general election.

The DA, a pro-business, center-right party, is set to keep control of Cape Town after winning an absolute majority there. It also did well in Pretoria, the capital, and in Johannesburg, the economic hub, and is expected to form coalitions that leave out the ANC. DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis told reporters that the campaigning was over and it was time to assemble governments that can actually fix the towns and cities. He said his party had already contacted many other parties over the previous 24 hours and would keep doing so.

The next stage is the coalition bargaining in the cities where no one won outright, and whether the DA can assemble governments without the ANC will be the first test of what this result means.