South Africa's ANC party faces historic losses in municipal elections

South Africa's ruling African National Congress is heading toward its worst election result in history, according to early counts in the municipal elections. France 24 reported that with over two-thirds of the votes counted, the party has received only 32 percent of the vote. Al Jazeera reported that the ANC was on about 32 percent of the vote with more than 60 percent of votes counted. [1][2]

The vote count indicates that coalition negotiations will be required to decide the governance of major metropolitan areas, including Johannesburg. As reported by France 24, these results extend the political decline of the party that previously dominated South African politics and had already been forced to form a national coalition to govern. [1]

The municipal vote follows national elections held on May 29, 2024, to choose a new National Assembly and nine provincial legislatures. That election was the seventh held under universal adult suffrage in South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994. As FTMQ News reported earlier, millions of voters went to the polls on Wednesday amid public frustration over water outages, electricity cuts, and high crime rates. [12][13]

Political leaders from the ruling party have addressed the initial election figures. EWN reported that ANC official Gwede Mantashe described the party's electoral decline as a sign of a maturing democracy in South Africa. [3]

Final results from the municipal election are expected later on Friday, according to France 24. [1]