{
  "id": "south-africa-local-elections",
  "title": "South Africa's municipal elections and coalition talks",
  "category": "election",
  "countries": [
    {
      "iso3": "ZAF",
      "name": "South Africa"
    }
  ],
  "status": "The ANC won about 31% in South Africa's Nov 4 municipal elections, its weakest result ever, to the DA's 25%, and most reports put the DA first in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni. Coalition talks now begin in the 127 of 213 councils where no party won a majority.",
  "summary": [
    "South Africa elected all 213 of its municipal councils on Nov 4, the first local vote since the ANC lost its national majority in 2024 and began governing with the DA and other parties in a Government of National Unity. Final results declared on Nov 8 put the ANC at 30.76%, down from 45.6% in 2021 (Eyewitness News), the DA at 24.64%, Jacob Zuma's MK Party at 9.76%, the EFF at 6.22% and ActionSA at 5.67%, according to the Electoral Commission as reported by the government news agency SAnews; turnout was 52%, up from 45.9%. The ANC kept outright control of 53 councils, down from 122 in 2021 (eNCA), and 127 councils are hung. AP, Al Jazeera and Eyewitness News report the DA ahead of the ANC in the Gauteng metros of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni, none with a majority; the DA kept its majority in Cape Town and the MK Party leads in eThekwini (Durban). Al Jazeera says parties have 14 days to make deals before the councils sit. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula called the result 'catastrophic'. The Sunday Times, citing at least five unnamed members of the ANC's national executive, reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa raised the idea of resigning as party leader; the ANC's spokesperson said she was not aware of such a discussion."
  ],
  "why_it_matters": {
    "text": "No party won a majority in 127 of South Africa's 213 municipal councils, so coalition deals will decide who governs most of the country's local governments, including its biggest cities.",
    "source_url": "https://www.sanews.gov.za/node/85517"
  },
  "changed_recently": [
    {
      "text": "South Africans voted on Nov 4. On Nov 6, with 93% of voting districts counted, Eyewitness News reported 108 hung councils and the DA leading but short of a majority in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni. On Nov 8 the Electoral Commission declared the vote free and fair and announced final results, with the ANC at 30.76%, the DA at 24.64% and 127 councils hung (SAnews; eNCA). Mbalula called the outcome 'catastrophic' and said the ANC would not beg for positions in coalition talks, while the DA said it would negotiate only with parties sharing its commitments on clean government and anti-corruption (Al Jazeera). The Sunday Times reported that Ramaphosa had raised stepping down as ANC president at a meeting of party leaders, citing unnamed national executive members; ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said she was not aware of such a discussion (TimesLive). AP reported on Nov 9 that, with 99% counted, the ANC was set to lose its place as the largest party in all three Gauteng metros (AP, via 1News).",
      "sources": []
    }
  ],
  "key_numbers": [
    {
      "label": "National vote shares in the Nov 4 municipal elections",
      "value": "ANC 30.76%, DA 24.64%, MK Party 9.76%, EFF 6.22%, ActionSA 5.67%",
      "who_says": "Electoral Commission of South Africa, as reported by SAnews",
      "as_of": "2026-11-08",
      "source_url": "https://www.sanews.gov.za/node/85517"
    },
    {
      "label": "Municipal councils where no party won more than half the seats",
      "value": "127 of 213",
      "who_says": "Electoral Commission of South Africa, as reported by SAnews",
      "as_of": "2026-11-08",
      "source_url": "https://www.sanews.gov.za/node/85517"
    },
    {
      "label": "Councils the ANC controls outright",
      "value": "53, down from 122 after the 2021 elections",
      "who_says": "eNCA, reporting the Electoral Commission's final results",
      "as_of": "2026-11-08",
      "source_url": "https://www.enca.com/news-top-stories/anc-tops-polls-shifting-political-landscape"
    }
  ],
  "expert_views": [
    {
      "name": "Daniel Silke",
      "role": "South African political analyst",
      "view": "He told AFP that voters in Gauteng would probably prefer a government led by the DA with ActionSA, but that the hostility between those two parties is extreme.",
      "outlet": "Africanews (AFP)",
      "url": "https://www.africanews.com/amp/2026/11/08/anc-leads-south-africas-local-polls-but-records-all-time-election-low-final-results/",
      "date": "2026-11-08"
    },
    {
      "name": "Louw Nel",
      "role": "Political analyst at Oxford Economics Africa",
      "view": "He said turnout suggests ANC supporters did not stay home but voted for other parties, and that a result near 32% would be the party's worst fear realized.",
      "outlet": "France 24 (Reuters, AFP)",
      "url": "https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20261106-south-africa-anc-party-on-track-to-face-nightmare-losses-in-municipal-elections",
      "date": "2026-11-06"
    },
    {
      "name": "Gwede Mantashe",
      "role": "ANC national chairperson",
      "view": "He said the ANC should use what it learned in the national coalition to build local coalitions that work, conceding that the national arrangement works at some times and not at others.",
      "outlet": "Eyewitness News",
      "url": "https://www.ewn.co.za/2026/11/05/anc-must-draw-on-gnu-experience-to-build-more-functional-local-govt-coalitions-mantashe",
      "date": "2026-11-05"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": {
    "level": "high",
    "reason": "The national shares and the 127 hung councils come from the Electoral Commission's Nov 8 declaration and are reported the same way by SAnews, eNCA, AP and Al Jazeera. Two caveats: the published text of the commission chair's speech gives slightly different figures (ANC 30.89%, DA 24.60%, 51 ANC-controlled councils) from SAnews and eNCA (30.76%, 24.64% or 24.67%, 53), and an AFP report on Africanews says the ANC led in Johannesburg, unlike AP, Al Jazeera and Eyewitness News; no official metro table was checked. The Ramaphosa resignation account rests on unnamed sources."
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "outlet": "France 24 (Reuters, AFP)",
      "outlet_country": "France",
      "date": "2026-11-06",
      "url": "https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20261106-south-africa-anc-party-on-track-to-face-nightmare-losses-in-municipal-elections"
    },
    {
      "outlet": "Eyewitness News",
      "outlet_country": "South Africa",
      "date": "2026-11-06",
      "url": "https://www.ewn.co.za/2026/11/06/coalition-negotiations-loom-as-108-municipalities-remain-hung"
    },
    {
      "outlet": "SAnews (South African Government News Agency)",
      "outlet_country": "South Africa",
      "date": "2026-11-08",
      "url": "https://www.sanews.gov.za/node/85517"
    },
    {
      "outlet": "eNCA",
      "outlet_country": "South Africa",
      "date": "2026-11-08",
      "url": "https://www.enca.com/news-top-stories/anc-tops-polls-shifting-political-landscape"
    },
    {
      "outlet": "Africanews (AFP)",
      "outlet_country": "Republic of the Congo",
      "date": "2026-11-08",
      "url": "https://www.africanews.com/amp/2026/11/08/anc-leads-south-africas-local-polls-but-records-all-time-election-low-final-results/"
    },
    {
      "outlet": "Al Jazeera",
      "outlet_country": "Qatar",
      "date": "2026-11-08",
      "url": "https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/8/south-africas-anc-suffers-setback-in-local-elections"
    },
    {
      "outlet": "TimesLIVE (Sunday Times)",
      "outlet_country": "South Africa",
      "date": "2026-11-08",
      "url": "https://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2026-11-07-ramaphosa-considers-quitting-as-anc-reels/"
    },
    {
      "outlet": "1News (Associated Press)",
      "outlet_country": "New Zealand",
      "date": "2026-11-09",
      "url": "https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/11/09/south-africas-anc-faces-worst-election-result-as-it-continues-decline/"
    },
    {
      "outlet": "France 24",
      "outlet_country": "France",
      "date": "2026-11-09",
      "url": "https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/eye-on-africa/20261109-south-africa-s-anc-suffers-a-historic-setback-in-local-elections-as-coalition-talks-begin"
    }
  ],
  "updated": "2026-11-11",
  "page": "https://verorbis.com/e/south-africa-local-elections/",
  "interactive": "https://verorbis.com/#e-south-africa-local-elections",
  "license": {
    "text": "Summaries and curation: CC BY 4.0. Cite \"Verorbis\" and link to https://verorbis.com/e/south-africa-local-elections/.",
    "third_party": "Numbers from third parties keep their own licenses and credit lines.",
    "credits": [
      "UCDP Candidate Events Dataset (CC BY 4.0), Uppsala Conflict Data Program",
      "UNHCR Refugee Population Statistics Database (CC BY 4.0)",
      "World Bank World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)",
      "V-Dem via Our World in Data (CC BY-SA 4.0)",
      "Harvard Growth Lab, Atlas of Economic Complexity (CC0)",
      "GDELT Project",
      "U.S. Energy Information Administration and Federal Reserve, via FRED",
      "European Central Bank reference rates; US Treasury daily par yield curve; Federal Reserve Bank of New York (EFFR)"
    ]
  }
}