The left suffered a historic collapse in the municipal elections in South Africa

The loss of support was also reflected in the municipal map. The party managed to maintain dominance only in Buffalo City and Mangaung, while the DA advanced in several of the main metropolitan areas.

On its part, the new far-left and pro-African racist party uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) surprised by positioning itself first in eThekwini, a municipality that includes the city of Durban.

The result also left a fragmented political landscape. No party achieved an absolute majority in the main municipalities, so parties will need to begin negotiations to establish agreements and form coalition governments.

In this context, the Democratic Alliance announced that it will open talks with other political groups that share commitments to a clean government, the fight against corruption, and respect for the rule of law.

The formation also aims to become the main party in South Africa in the 2029 general elections.

Voter turnout was around 52% of the more than 29 million citizens eligible to vote, above the 45.7% recorded in the previous municipal elections.

The historic African National Congress (ANC), the leftist party led by President Cyril Ramaphosa that has governed the country since the end of apartheid, suffered the largest electoral setback in its history during the municipal elections in South Africa.

Although it managed to remain the most voted party at the national level, the results confirmed a significant loss of support and a major advance of the center-right.

According to official data released by the Electoral Commission, the ANC obtained 30.89% of the votes, compared to 45.59% it achieved in the 2021 municipal elections.

The drop of nearly 15 percentage points represents a blow to the political group historically linked to Nelson Mandela and highlights the weakening of its dominance in South African politics.

The result was accompanied by growth of the Democratic Alliance (DA), the main center-right force in the country, which reached 24.60% of the votes nationally.

The party managed to consolidate its presence in the major urban centers and became the most voted force in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, and Nelson Mandela Bay.

The DA also achieved a decisive victory in Cape Town, where it obtained 56.4% of the votes, and gained absolute control of 12 municipalities.

Its growth was accompanied by a discourse focused on public management efficiency and free market, in a context of social discontent over the functioning of basic services.

The setback of the left and the advance of the center-right

The ANC's performance was conditioned by the discontent of broad sectors of the population regarding persistent issues such as unemployment, crime, and difficulties in public services, especially in the supply of water and electricity.