South Africa votes in key local polls
A record 29.2 million citizens are choosing municipal leaders to test the weakened African National Congress.
By Vanessa Lopez ·
Polling stations across South Africa closed at 9 pm local time on Wednesday. Voters have spent the day selecting councils for the country's eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district councils, and 205 local councils. These bodies will subsequently choose their mayors. The Electoral Commission of South Africa reported that 29.2 million people are registered to vote at 23,696 locations. An additional 1.4 million special votes were cast on Monday and Tuesday ahead of the main day.
The election serves as a major assessment of the African National Congress, the party that guided the nation out of white minority rule in 1994. Support for the ANC has declined over the past decade. The party fell below 50 percent in municipal polls for the first time in 2021. In the 2024 national election, it lost its parliamentary majority and entered a coalition government with the Democratic Alliance and other groups. Recent surveys indicate its support could drop below 40 percent.
President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the party's challenges in his weekly newsletter. He stated that municipal failures have contributed to declining public trust in democratic governance. The presidency confirmed that Ramaphosa voted at Hyde Park High School in Johannesburg. This city is considered the largest prize in the election. It has changed mayors five times in four years. The Democratic Alliance has nominated Helen Zille, its 75-year-old former leader, for the top post. A News24 poll places Zille at 36 percent, suggesting she will need coalition partners to govern.
Zille told the Associated Press that the ANC is in free fall. Her campaign included a stunt where she snorkeled in a mud-filled trench caused by a burst water pipe. The vote is also the first local election for the uMkhonto weSizwe party, led by former President Jacob Zuma. Zuma is mounting a challenge in the coastal city of Durban. He told supporters on Sunday that the party will start by taking back the country. Durban has become a center of anti-migrant sentiment, a key theme in the campaign.
Turnout remains a factor, as only 46 percent of registered voters participated in the 2021 municipal elections. Coalition governance is already widespread. The Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection reported that 74 of the country's 257 municipalities were run by coalitions or minority administrations as of February. Police recorded 21 election-related cases since Sunday. KwaZulu-Natal province has 165 voting stations classified as high risk, the highest number of any province.
Final results are expected on Sunday. The outcome will likely shape the race to succeed Ramaphosa as ANC leader. The party conference for that selection is scheduled for December 2027.
