ANC wins 31% in South African local elections, its worst result on record

Local coalitions loom as splinter parties draw ANC support

Final results tallied Sunday gave the African National Congress 31% of the vote in South African local elections, the worst result on record for the party of Nelson Mandela, the movement that toppled apartheid. The pro-business Democratic Alliance won 25% of the vote. uMkhonto weSizwe, the splinter party headed by former President Jacob Zuma, whom The Wall Street Journal described as scandal-ridden, won 10% of the vote in its first municipal elections.

The fragmented vote leaves many municipalities without an outright majority, forcing parties to form coalitions at the local level. The Wall Street Journal reported that such coalitions have historically been unstable and have led to worsened public services and increasing corruption.

The ANC’s national support has fallen over two decades. In the last national election, in 2024, the party took 40% of the popular vote, down from 58% in 2019 and from the nearly 70% of the electorate it commanded at the height of its power in 2004. Its support has mostly dissipated among splinter parties, including uMkhonto weSizwe.

The Democratic Alliance, the country’s second-most popular party, has historically struggled to grow its support beyond its traditionally white base.

The Wall Street Journal characterized the shift as voters turning against the ANC amid frustration over high unemployment, failing infrastructure and revelations of government corruption.

The report pointed to Johannesburg, South Africa’s economic capital, describing the signs of malaise there as particularly acute. The city is on its ninth mayor in 10 years. Residents who can afford it often install boreholes and solar power to avoid water and electricity outages caused by failing infrastructure. Jobless men direct traffic in exchange for tips or food from motorists, and potholes “as big as Jacuzzis” line some streets.

“This local government election is actually our democracy maturing,” said William Gumede, a former antiapartheid activist and political scientist. “I think the voters really want parties to collaborate across races. People have lost some appetite for these big, strong parties.”

“I want change, I want us to have water, I want us to have services, so I think it is just time for us to change and see if the other party can deliver,” said Karina Marais, 66, a restaurant owner in Johannesburg and a 30-year ANC voter who switched to the Democratic Alliance. “I wanted [the ANC] to be winners, but now, things aren’t changing for the better, so I’m hoping we can just get better services,” she said.

In foreign relations, the United States last week said it would eject South Africa from a program allowing duty-free access to the U.S. market, after cutting off all foreign aid and expelling South Africa’s ambassador to Washington last year.

President Trump has also made unsubstantiated claims that white farmers are the victims of genocide enabled by South Africa’s government, and has offered Afrikaners — white descendants of Dutch, German and other settlers who speak the Afrikaans language — a fast track to refugee status and U.S. citizenship.