ANC sets the record straight on Cyril Ramaphosa’s resignation

The African National Congress (ANC) has dismissed rumours that its president, Cyril Ramaphosa, is considering resigning following the party’s poor performance in the 2026 local government elections.

Ramaphosa has led the ANC through two national election cycles, including the 2024 general elections and the recently held 2026 local government elections.

For the first time since the dawn of democracy, the ANC lost its national parliamentary majority in the 2024 elections, securing approximately 40% of the vote. The party’s support declined further to around 30.75% in the 2026 local government elections.

ANC SAYS CYRIL RAMAPHOSA WILL NOT RESIGN

Addressing the media ahead of the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, party spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said neither Ramaphosa nor the party’s leadership collective was under pressure to resign.

Bhengu dismissed reports that Ramaphosa had offered to step down, describing them as fabrications and urging South Africans to treat them as such.

On the party’s electoral decline, Bhengu said the results required proper reflection, which would take place collectively during the NEC’s election assessment.

“President Cyril Ramaphosa ran a lengthy campaign with excellence as he travelled across the country and led from the front. There is no sense in which the President should be resigning.

“The discussion about whether there must be a resignation or collective resignation of the entire NEC, I’m certain that is part of the discussion that’s going to be taking place, not so much today but particularly when the election assessment is done at a regular NEC meeting which will be convened soon.

“The main business today is to give the mandate to our negotiators,” she said.

[WATCH] "The president [Cyril Ramaphosa] is going nowhere, there is no pressure on the part of the ANC leadership collective to leave," ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu sets the record straight on rumours suggesting that the party leader is under pressure to resign following the… pic.twitter.com/p63HJcP2nQ

— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) November 12, 2026