South Africa’s African National Congress has opened coalition talks to salvage its hold on local government after winning 30.76 per cent in municipal elections, its worst result since the end of apartheid.
The result leaves about two-thirds of the country’s 213 municipalities without a single party in control. It also forces the party of Nelson Mandela into bargaining with smaller rivals it once dominated, two years after it lost its national majority.
How badly did the ANC do in the 2026 local elections?
Final results declared by the Electoral Commission of South Africa on Sunday showed the ANC on 30.76 per cent, down from 46 per cent in the 2021 municipal vote and just over 40 per cent in the 2024 general election. The Democratic Alliance came second with 24.64 per cent, followed by former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party on 9.76 per cent, the Economic Freedom Fighters on 6.22 per cent and ActionSA on 5.67 per cent, the Mail & Guardian reported.
The ANC won outright control of 53 municipalities, against 12 for the DA, five for the Inkatha Freedom Party and three for MK. Only 74 of the 213 councils produced an outright majority, according to commission chair Mosotho Moepya. Turnout was about 52 per cent, the commission said, up from 45.9 per cent in 2021.
Fikile Mbalula, the ANC’s secretary-general, called the outcome “very catastrophic” for the party, Deutsche Welle reported. “We cannot ask the people to trust us merely because of our history,” he said.
Who controls South Africa’s biggest cities?
The DA kept an outright majority in Cape Town with 56.42 per cent and finished first in Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Nelson Mandela Bay, but without majorities, according to results compiled by The Citizen. MK led in eThekwini, which includes Durban, with 38.29 per cent. The ANC came first only in Buffalo City and, by less than half a percentage point, in Mangaung.
In Johannesburg, the DA’s 91 seats and ActionSA’s 43 together fall two short of the 136 needed to govern the 270-seat council, according to Joseph Sekhampu, a professor at North-West University. A DA-ActionSA pact would clear the threshold in Tshwane but not in Ekurhuleni.
“The DA won the most seats in Gauteng’s three metros, but ActionSA holds the stronger bargaining position,” Sekhampu said.
Who is in the ANC coalition talks?
ActionSA, the party led by former Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba, said it held a first round of talks with the ANC on Sunday and met the EFF’s negotiators on Monday. “ActionSA has concluded a productive and mutually respectful first engagement with the ANC,” Michael Beaumont, its national chair, said, The Citizen reported. The party is still waiting to meet the DA and MK.
The DA said its federal executive would run negotiations nationally rather than city by city. The ANC said it was in no rush. “The ANC will not be in a hurry to get into coalitions. That is not the only option,” Mbalula said, TimesLIVE reported. The party’s national executive committee is due to meet on Thursday to consider options drawn up by its coalition task team.
The talks are the latest test of the arrangements that have dominated South African politics since the ANC lost its national majority, from the national unity government to the coalition contest in Gauteng’s metros. Short-lived alliances in Johannesburg and Tshwane after the 2021 vote produced repeated changes of mayor and stalled service delivery.
What happens next?
New councils must be constituted within 14 days of the results being declared, TimesLIVE reported, and their first sittings will elect mayors and speakers. President Cyril Ramaphosa, who leads the ANC, urged parties to settle quickly. “People did not cast their vote so that their representatives could spend the next five years fighting amongst themselves,” he said.
The outcome is also being read as a guide to the 2029 general election, as voters punish the ANC over water and power shortages, unemployment and corruption in local government. Ramaphosa, who has faced pressure on the economy and trade with the US, said municipal failures had weakened public trust in democratic government.
FAQ
What share of the vote did the ANC win in the 2026 local elections?
The ANC won 30.76 per cent, according to final results from the Electoral Commission of South Africa. That is its lowest share in any election since 1994.
Which party won the most votes in Johannesburg?
The DA won the most votes in Johannesburg, with 34.79 per cent, but fell short of a majority. It needs at least one partner to govern.
How many South African councils are hung after the election?
Only 74 of 213 municipalities produced an outright majority, leaving roughly two-thirds without a single party in control.
When must coalition deals be agreed?
New councils must be finalised within 14 days of the final results, declared on November 8. Their first meetings elect mayors and speakers.
