JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s African National Congress was running well below its previous municipal election performance as ballots were counted Thursday, November 5, according to Reuters and figures from the country’s election commission. The early results point toward a difficult contest for the party that has dominated national politics since the end of apartheid, but they do not constitute a final result.
With about 36% of votes counted at midday GMT, the ANC had approximately 32% of the vote, compared with roughly 27% for the Democratic Alliance, Reuters reported. The figures could change as different areas finish counting. The commission expects fuller results later, and the final balance of power in major municipalities may depend on coalition agreements.
The ANC’s share at that stage was about 14 percentage points below its 2021 municipal result. That comparison illustrates the scale of its early challenge, but vote totals can shift when areas with different political preferences report at different times. Responsible election coverage distinguishes the share of ballots counted from the share of constituencies or councils already decided.
The party led the movement that ended apartheid and has governed South Africa nationally for decades. Its record has become a central issue in local elections as residents complain about unreliable electricity, water problems, waste collection, deteriorating roads, crime and allegations of corruption. Municipal governments are often where voters most directly experience the performance of public institutions.
Opposition parties have tried to turn frustration over basic services into local gains. The Democratic Alliance has emphasized administration and service delivery, while other parties appeal to voters dissatisfied with both the ANC and established opposition groups. Those competing messages do not necessarily translate into outright majorities in councils where the electorate is divided among many parties.
Coalition negotiations may be decisive in cities such as Johannesburg. A party can finish first in the vote and still lack enough council seats to govern alone. Partners must agree on leadership, budgets and priorities, and past municipal coalitions have sometimes been unstable. The election outcome therefore has two stages: the count and the political process of forming administrations.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa voted on Wednesday, as citizens across the country chose local representatives. National leaders are watching the municipal contest closely because it provides a measure of public confidence and can influence the strategies parties adopt before future national elections.
For American readers, the election matters beyond domestic South African politics. South Africa is a major regional economy and an important diplomatic actor in Africa and global forums. Stable city governments affect infrastructure, logistics, investment and the delivery of services that businesses and communities rely on.
Early electoral losses for a long-dominant party may signal a changing political landscape, but the size and durability of any shift will only become clearer once final results and coalitions are known. The ANC could still retain influence through agreements even where it fails to win a majority, while opposition groups face their own test of whether they can govern effectively.
The next checkpoints are updated figures from the election commission, the final distribution of council seats and negotiations among parties. Until those are available, describing the ANC as having definitively lost control of a particular city would go beyond the evidence in the early count. What is clear is that voters are demanding answers about local services and the established political order is under pressure.
Source and reporting credit
Original reporting and factual reference: Reuters, November 5, 2026. This article is independently written and does not reproduce the source report.
