ANC wins South Africa local vote with 30.76%, its lowest yet
Ramaphosa's party stays first but drops nearly 15 points from 2021, and councils with no clear majority jump from 70 to 138.
South Africa's governing African National Congress won the country's municipal elections with 30.76% of the valid vote, its worst showing in a local race and 14.83 points below the 45.59% it took in 2021. The party of President Cyril Ramaphosa remains the largest force, but not by much.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa closed the count on Sunday for the vote held Wednesday, Nov. 4. The Democratic Alliance (DA), the ANC's partner in the national unity government Ramaphosa has led since 2024, came second with 24.64%. The uMkhonto weSizwe party (MK), the party of former President Jacob Zuma, was third with 9.77%.
| Party | Votes | Share (%) | Seats | Councils won first place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANC | 9,160,614 | 30.76 | 3,282 | 128 |
| DA | 7,338,553 | 24.64 | 1,722 | 32 |
| MK | 2,910,914 | 9.77 | 799 | 20 |
The Economic Freedom Fighters took 6.22%, ActionSA 5.67%, the Inkatha Freedom Party 4.69% and the Patriotic Alliance 1.98%.
The ANC also lost about 1.4 million votes since 2021, falling from 10,699,300 to 9,160,614. The DA moved the other way, up from 21.66% to 24.64%.
The bigger shift is in who can govern. Of the 213 councils, 138 ended up with no party holding a majority, double the 70 of 2021. Only 74 have a single party in control, down from 143, and one is still being tallied. Those figures come from the commission's results dashboard, which still showed one council outstanding.
For residents, coalition deals will decide who runs water, electricity and trash collection for the next five years. For Ramaphosa's government, which already shares national power with the DA, the result means a weaker party at nearly every local bargaining table.
The commission declared the election free and fair. Still open are the MK's challenge to results in parts of eThekwini (Durban) and a new vote in Douglas, in the Northern Cape, where ballots were reportedly destroyed before the count.
