South Africans are casting ballots in local elections that are widely viewed as a judgement on the African National Congress (ANC). The party led the country out of white minority rule in 1994, but it has steadily lost backing over the past decade.
Polling stations opened at 7am (05:00 GMT) on Wednesday and will close at 9pm (19:00 GMT). The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) said a record 29.2 million people are registered to vote at 23,696 voting stations. More than 1.4 million special votes were cast on Monday and Tuesday.
What is at stake in the municipal vote
Voters are choosing councils for the country’s eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district councils and 205 local councils. Those councils will then select mayors.
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The ANC first dropped below 50 percent in municipal polls in 2021. It later lost its parliamentary majority in the 2024 national election and was forced into a coalition government with the Democratic Alliance (DA) and other parties. Polls indicate its support could fall below 40 percent this time.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his weekly newsletter “From the Desk of the President”, linked the problem to local government. “Municipal failures have contributed to declining public trust and confidence in democratic governance,” he wrote. The presidency said he is due to vote at Hyde Park High School in Johannesburg.
Johannesburg and Durban emerge as key battlegrounds
Johannesburg, the country’s financial capital, is seen as the biggest prize. It has had five mayors in four years. The DA has put forward its 75-year-old former leader, Helen Zille, for the top job. Her campaign included a stunt in which she went snorkelling in a mud-filled trench left by a burst municipal water pipe.
A News24 poll gave Zille 36 percent, which would mean she needs coalition partners, particularly the ANC, to govern. Zille told the Associated Press that the ANC was “in free fall”. Haru Mutasa, reporting from Johannesburg for , said the party’s decline has been steady and is likely to continue if polls are a guide. She added that the political landscape is “definitely changing”.
This is the first local vote for the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, led by former President Jacob Zuma, which is mounting a strong challenge in the coastal city of Durban. Speaking to supporters there on Sunday, Zuma said, “We are going to start by taking back our country here,” according to AFP. Anti-migrant sentiment has become a prominent theme in Durban’s campaign.
Turnout, coalitions and security concerns
Turnout could be a problem. Only 46 percent of registered voters took part in the 2021 municipal elections. Coalitions are already common, with 74 of the country’s 257 municipalities run by coalitions or minority administrations as of February, according to the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection.
Security has also been stepped up. Police said 21 election-related cases had been recorded since Sunday. KwaZulu-Natal has 165 voting stations classed as high risk, the highest number of any province.
Mutasa suggested that “no one party will win the outright majority” and that coalitions are likely, with the ANC working alongside smaller parties. Final results are expected on Sunday. They are expected to influence the race to succeed Ramaphosa as ANC leader at the party’s conference in December 2027.
