ANC drops to 31 percent in local polls, forcing coalition talks in major cities and extending the national power-sharing model.
MoneyTurkey Politics Desk | 9 November 2026
Key points
- ANC won 31 percent of the vote, down from 46 percent in 2021 and 66 percent in 2006, according to Al Jazeera.
- DA took Johannesburg, Pretoria and Ekurhuleni from the ANC and kept Cape Town; parties have 14 days to form municipal governments.
South African voters cut the ANC’s share of the vote to 31 percent in local elections, its lowest result since the end of apartheid. The party lost control of Johannesburg, Pretoria and Ekurhuleni to the Democratic Alliance. With no majority in most municipalities, the ANC and DA must negotiate coalitions within 14 days or share power with smaller parties.
What happened
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula called the outcome “catastrophic”. President Cyril Ramaphosa urged parties to negotiate “with humility” and to put citizens’ interests ahead of political scores.
The Democratic Alliance won more than one million Black South African votes for the first time, according to its modelling, and retained Cape Town. The ANC fell from 46 percent in the 2021 local vote and from 66 percent in 2006.
The results follow the ANC’s loss of its parliamentary majority in the 2024 national election, which ended three decades of single-party rule and produced a national coalition government.
What is at stake for markets
Coalition talks will decide who runs South Africa’s eight largest cities and 249 municipalities, including the economic centres of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni. Policy on service delivery, land use and local procurement will be set at these councils.
The ANC and DA remain divided on measures to address economic and social inequality. Any agreement will shape local spending and regulation that affects construction, utilities and logistics firms operating in those metros.
The lecturer Sandile Mnguni told Al Jazeera that continued electoral decline could follow if grievances over corruption and service delivery are not addressed, raising the risk of further political fragmentation.
Why it matters
Local coalitions will test whether the national power-sharing arrangement between the ANC and DA can be replicated at city level. Failure to agree could leave key municipalities under temporary administrators and delay budgets.
The shift away from ANC dominance, first signalled in 2024, now extends to the cities that generate most of South Africa’s economic output. Investors will watch whether the new councils maintain or alter existing procurement and infrastructure plans.
Ramaphosa said parties must avoid “petty squabbles” that drown out citizens’ interests, signalling that prolonged deadlock could weigh on service delivery and local economic activity.
What to watch
- Outcome of coalition talks in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Ekurhuleni within 14 days
- Any change to local procurement or infrastructure rules once councils are seated
- ANC internal review of coalition ties at national and municipal level
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For information only. Not investment advice.
Sources
- Al Jazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/9/what-catastrophic-south-africa-local-election-results-mean-for-anc
- Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-african-voters-rebuff-anc-accelerating-shift-coalition-politics-2026-11-09/
- AP: https://apnews.com/article/south-africa-russia-ukraine-war-recruits-arrest-2cc387cac06f3663eb4c817194b7ed8c
- AP: https://apnews.com/article/south-africa-anc-explainer-mandela-elections-26362a728d3449072f1e08e86f26cf55
- Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-11-09/south-africa-s-anc-to-review-coalition-ties-after-voting-setback
- AP: https://apnews.com/article/south-africa-elections-anc-decline-voters-5de84cd9a66604fcb774b5a97335a6e8
