ANC’s 2026 election results put Cyril Ramaphosa under pressure (video)

The African National Congress (ANC) remains South Africa’s biggest political party, but the 2026 Local Government Elections have exposed the scale of its declining support and left it facing difficult questions about its political future.

The party secured just 30.76% of the national vote, down from 45.59% in the 2021 municipal elections.

In terms of actual votes, the ANC received 9 160 691 in 2026, compared with 10 699 300 five years earlier – a loss of more than 1.5 million votes.

The result leaves the ANC with its lowest national vote share in a local government election since the dawn of democracy in 1994.

While the party remains the largest nationally, its reduced support has significant implications for President Cyril Ramaphosa, the party’s leadership and its ability to govern municipalities across the country.

How the major parties performed: 2021 vs 2026

The following comparison shows the change in votes received by selected major parties across the two elections.

Party	2021 votes	2026 votes	Change
ANC	10 699 300	9 160 691	-1 538 609
DA	5 082 747	7 339 294	+2 256 547
MK Party	Did not contest	2 910 914	New
EFF	2 419 772	1 851 983	-567 789
ActionSA	547 905	1 689 385	+1 141 480
IFP	1 324 267	1 396 919	+72 652
FF Plus	549 877	890 264	+340 387
Patriotic Alliance	226 859	588 333	+361 474

Coalition politics set to shape the next five years

The ANC’s decline has consequences beyond its national vote share.

The IEC’s final announcement confirmed that 72 councils had a party with an outright majority of seats, while 127 were classified as hung councils, where no party had secured more than 50% of the seats.

Coalition negotiations will therefore play a major role in determining who governs many municipalities over the next five years.

Despite remaining the largest party nationally, the ANC will need to negotiate with other political parties in numerous councils if it hopes to secure or retain control.

The DA, MK Party, IFP, ActionSA and other parties will also have important roles in discussions over municipal administrations.

The 2026 results represent more than a decline in the ANC’s vote total. They show a political landscape in which national vote share, council seats and coalition agreements will all influence which parties govern South Africa’s municipalities.

A serious warning for the ANC

The election result represents a further setback for a party that has governed South Africa nationally since 1994.

The ANC’s support has declined across successive elections, with the 2021 local government elections already delivering a significant warning when it fell below 50% of the national vote for the first time.

Five years later, it has lost another 14.83 percentage points.

The party’s performance also needs to be considered alongside the gains made by its political rivals.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) increased its national vote share to 24.64%, up from approximately 21.6% in 2021, while ActionSA recorded a substantial increase in its vote total.

The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, contesting its first local government elections, secured 9.76% of the national vote.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), meanwhile, received 6.22%, reflecting a decline from its 2021 performance.

The results point to a more fragmented political environment in which the ANC faces competition from several parties rather than a single opposition force.

Ramaphosa faces renewed political questions

The result is also likely to intensify questions about the ANC’s leadership and its direction under Ramaphosa.

The President attended the IEC’s final results announcement in Midrand on Sunday evening, as the governing party absorbed the scale of its electoral setback.

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula described the outcome as “catastrophic”, according to Reuters, and said the party needed to put its house in order.

Ramaphosa, meanwhile, called for humility and a focus on the public interest.

The election result does not automatically determine the President’s position or the outcome of future internal party processes. However, it provides another measure of the political challenges facing the ANC leadership.

The party will now have to consider why its support continues to fall and how it intends to rebuild confidence among voters ahead of the next national elections in 2029.

Coalition politics become the new reality

Perhaps the most immediate consequence of the election is the number of municipalities where the ANC will need support from other parties to govern.

According to the IEC’s final announcement, 127 of South Africa’s 213 municipal councils are hung, meaning no party secured more than 50% of the council seats.

The ANC secured outright control of 53 municipalities and emerged as the leading party in 128.

However, being the largest party does not automatically mean it can govern independently.

The DA secured outright control of 12 municipalities, while the IFP won five and the MK Party three. Rise Tsantsabane Communities also secured an outright majority in one municipality.

The coalition negotiations that follow will determine who becomes mayor, who controls municipal administrations and which parties work together over the next five years.

The political picture is particularly complicated in Gauteng’s major metros, where the DA, ANC and ActionSA will all have important roles in negotiations.

In Johannesburg, for example, the DA finished first with 34.79%, followed by the ANC on 20.25% and ActionSA on 16.27%.

The result leaves the city facing coalition negotiations rather than a straightforward change of administration.

More South Africans turned out to vote

Despite the ANC’s declining support, the 2026 elections also recorded an increase in voter participation.

The IEC reported national turnout of 52%, compared with 45.9% in the 2021 local government elections.

Approximately 14.9 million people cast their ballots from 29.2 million registered voters.

The increase in turnout means the election result cannot simply be explained by fewer people participating in the democratic process.

However, the national figures alone do not establish why individual voters supported particular parties or whether former ANC supporters moved directly to opposition parties.

The vote totals show the changing balance of political support, but further analysis is needed to understand the reasons behind those changes.

The next five years will test the ANC

The ANC now faces two major challenges: rebuilding its national support and negotiating its position in municipalities where it does not have an outright majority.

Its ability to form coalitions will determine whether it retains influence in many councils, but those arrangements will also require compromises with parties that may have very different political priorities.

The party remains the largest political force nationally, but the 2026 results show that its position is considerably weaker than it was five years ago.

With the next national elections scheduled for 2029, the ANC has a limited political window to demonstrate that it can respond to voters’ concerns and reverse its declining electoral support.