Reported by The Guardian
Former liberation movement’s share of national vote almost 14 percentage points below 2021 result
The African National Congress is on course to suffer a bruising defeat in South Africa’s local elections, with the once dominant party of Nelson Mandela falling to under a third of the vote nationally with more than 80% of ballots counted.
Wednesday’s fragmented vote marks another stage in the decline of the ANC, which has led national governments since the end of white minority apartheid rule in 1994. High unemployment, crime, corruption and poor local service delivery have all contributed to voters turning away from the party .
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The former liberation movement is projected to lose its status as the biggest party in the two most populous provinces, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, as parties began coalition negotiations behind closed doors. The final results are expected to be announced on Sunday.
The ANC was on 31.8% of the vote nationally, almost 14 percentage points below its 2021 local election result. The centre-right, white-led Democratic Alliance (DA) had 24.1% of the vote, while the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party of the former ANC president Jacob Zuma was on 9.3%.
Turnout also rose in Wednesday’s poll. The election commission estimated that 54.5% of registered voters cast their ballot, up from 46% five years ago.
The final shape of coalitions in some of the country’s biggest cities remained unclear with the final votes still being counted. Senior figures in key parties said they would talk with almost anyone, while keeping negotiating strategies under wraps.
In Johannesburg, South Africa’s commercial capital and biggest city, with 4.8 million people, voters have had to contend with regular water and power cuts , uncollected rubbish and potholes. The municipality, which has seen 10 changes of mayor in the last decade amid unstable coalitions, has admitted to a 220bn rand (£9.9bn) infrastructure spending backlog.
With just over half of votes counted in Johannesburg, the DA was leading with 40%, having run an energetic campaign under Helen Zille, a 75-year-old former Cape Town mayor. The ANC, which leads the current coalition, was in second place on 17.5%. ActionSA,…