South Africa's ANC takes a beating in municipal vote, setting up tough coalition talks

South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) was dealt a stinging blow in last week's municipal elections, results showed on Sunday, weakening its hand in coalition talks that will follow to form city governments.

The ANC ended up with 30.76% of the vote against 24.64% for its main rival, the Democratic Alliance (DA).

Former President Jacob Zuma's party uMkhonto weSizwe had 9.76% of votes, putting it in third place, while the rest was split between hundreds of smaller parties.

The outcome marks a further painful setback for the ANC, which has seen its vote share fall steadily in local elections over the last 15 years due largely to failures in basic services such as water and electricity. The former liberation movement got 45.59% of votes in the last municipal elections in 2021.

Since no party won more than 50% of votes in many cities including South Africa's commercial hub Johannesburg, the ANC and DA will have to team up, or hash it out with smaller parties to form majority municipal governments.

The number of municipalities where coalitions will be needed more than doubled from 2021, reflecting a fragmentation of South Africa's electorate.

ANC OFFICIAL CALLS RESULTS 'CATASTROPHIC'

In brief remarks after the results announcement, President Cyril Ramaphosa said he was proud of the multi-party nature of South Africa's democracy.

"We celebrate the enduring strength of our democracy and the sovereign right of the people of South Africa to choose their representatives," he said.

ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula called the result "catastrophic" for the once-dominant party of Nelson Mandela but said the party would not go begging for positions when coalition talks begin soon.

"When the people tell us we have fallen short... the honest answer is not to argue with them but to go home and put our house in order," Mbalula said on Saturday.

Parties will have 14 days to negotiate before city councils are formed.

Ramaphosa said political parties should approach the negotiations with humility.

"Our people's interest must not be drowned by the quest of political parties or representatives to settle political scores or petty squabbles," he said.

In Johannesburg the pro-business DA got about 35% of votes, compared to 20% for the ANC.

That could give DA veteran Helen Zille, who had campaigned on fixing potholes and leaking water pipes, a good chance of becoming mayor, depending on the coalition agreements reached.

Analysts have said the best option for stability in cities like Johannesburg would be for the ANC to partner with the DA, mirroring the arrangement they have had in national government for the past two years.

But the two are ideologically opposed on key issues such as racial redress.

ActionSA, which came third in Johannesburg with 16% of the vote, will not support the DA with Zille as its mayoral candidate, the party's leader Herman Mashaba told Reuters on Sunday.