South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) is facing a historic collapse in this week’s local elections, with early results showing the party—once unshakable as the standard-bearer of post-apartheid democracy—plummeting to just 30% of the vote. If the trend holds, it would mark the ANC’s worst electoral performance in its three-decade reign.
ANC’s Freefall
Counting is still underway after Wednesday’s vote, but projections suggest the ANC could lose its majority in all but one municipal council. At its peak in the early 2000s, the party commanded nearly 70% support. Now, even its traditional strongholds like Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal are slipping away. “This is the most severe result that the ANC would have feared,” said political analyst Daniel Silke. “It will undermine its ability to exert authority at every level.”
Opposition Gains Ground
The centrist Democratic Alliance (DA) is capitalizing on the ANC’s decline, surging to 24% nationally and leading in Johannesburg, though likely falling short of an outright majority. DA leader Helen Zille—a white politician who has improbably won over black voters with stunts like ziplining over an ANC-neglected sinkhole—told the New York Times: “You don’t even have to like the DA. You just have to love Johannesburg to consolidate your vote behind us.” Meanwhile, the new uMkhonto weSizwe (MKP) party, founded by ex-president Jacob Zuma, is siphoning off ANC loyalists with 9% support, potentially kingmaking in cities like Durban.
Voters ‘No Longer Voting Out of Loyalty’
Analysts say the ANC’s collapse reflects a seismic shift: voters are now punishing the party for rampant corruption, crumbling infrastructure, and 32% unemployment rather than rewarding its liberation-era legacy. “They are watching what their elected leaders are doing,” said analyst Sandile Mnguni. The ANC itself conceded the message, with spokesperson Sifiso Sonjica calling the losses “a maturing of democracy.” But with the DA and MKP gaining, the 2029 national elections could mark the end of ANC dominance—if the party doesn’t implode first.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/africa/2026/11/06/early-election-results-show-south-african-voters-abandoning-the-socialist-anc/