ANC on course for worst electoral showing yet

The African National Congress, which led the fight against apartheid rule in South Africa, is on course for its worst electoral showing yet in this week’s municipal vote as it bore the brunt of public anger over water and power outages and potholed roads.

With 70% of the ballots counted nationally, the ANC had 31.9% support, official tallies published on the Electoral Commission’s website on Friday showed. The party secured 45.6% backing in the last municipal elections five years ago and just over 40% in the last national vote in 2024, losing its parliamentary majority for the first time since it took power three decades earlier.

Read: ANC loses ground in South African municipal vote, modelling shows

Led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, the ANC governs the country in a coalition with the Democratic Alliance and eight smaller parties. Investors will be watching for any surge in backing for populist opposition groups and what that could mean for the stability of the ruling alliance, which has prioritized economic growth and job creation.

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Former President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe Party, or MKP, and Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters, which both splintered from the ANC and advocate for the state to play a bigger role in the economy, now form the main opposition.

The partial results show the DA had 24.6% support, up from 21.7% in 2021, and the EFF 6.2%, down from 10.3%. The MKP, which was only formed in 2023, had 9%.

Read: Ramaphosa sees hope for US-SA relations after Democrats’ election sweep

The electoral commission is expected to release the final outcome of the vote and the allocation of seats on the 257 municipal councils over the weekend.

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Results as of 6:50 a.m. local time:

Party
Support

ANC
31.9%

DA
24.6%

MKP
 9%

EFF
 6.2%

ActionSA
 4.8%

The Electoral Commission also published the voting breakdown in individual towns and cities, with the count at varying stages of completion. The partial tallies showed the DA was on track to retain its majority in Cape Town, the country’s main tourist hub, while no party led outright in any of the seven other biggest metropolises.

Metropolitan Area
ANC
DA
MKP
EFF
ActionSA

Johannesburg
17%
41%
4.9%
6.9%
15.6%

Cape Town
9.7%
61.2%
0.4%
2.8%
2.6%

eThekwini
16.8%
20.9%
43.7%
1.5%
2.8%

Tshwane
21.7%
32.8%
2.2%
5.9%
22.6%

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