The African National Congress led South Africa’s Democratic Alliance by four points in an early count for local council control Thursday, but only 28% of votes had been tallied.
The Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) put the ANC at 32% and the DA at 28%. The ANC’s preliminary share was about 14 percentage points below its 45.59% result in 2021, already its worst municipal election showing, according to the commission and earlier EconoTimes coverage.
ANC Chairperson Gwede Mantashe said the count remained incomplete, with major areas still awaiting tallies. DA mayoral candidate for Johannesburg Helen Zille expressed optimism about her party’s performance but said the partial count did not yet allow a clear assessment, Reuters reported. Before the vote, Reuters said voters were widely expected to punish the ANC over crime, corruption and failures in basic services.
Reuters reported that several major municipalities, including Johannesburg, were expected to lack a single-party majority, setting up coalition talks. Results were expected to be declared Sunday, with parties then having two weeks to negotiate municipal coalitions.