South Africa's ANC facing worst-ever performance in local elections

Near-final results show South Africa's once dominant ANC will see its lowest-ever vote percentage. The party is taking the blame for shoddy municipal services, including water and electricity shortages. South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) is heading for an historically poor election performance , with the near-final tally from Wednesday's municipal polls showing it coming in with just over 30% of the vote.

The ANC also lost its majority in six of the eight metropolitan regions, South Africa's Electoral Commission said Saturday in sharing the results after 98% of votes were counted. South African voters in 2026 are angry about water and electricity shortages, with the ANC taking the blame for the poor state of municipalities. High unemployment, crime, and widespread corruption are other pressing issues.

ANC leader, and South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa , has not yet addressed the poor performance as of Saturday evening.