South Africa's local election vote count ends, ANC retains position as largest party

The Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa announced the vote counting results on the 8th. The African National Congress (ANC) retained its position as the largest political party in the local government elections, with a vote rate of 30.76%, which was about 15 percentage points lower than the 2021 local government elections. The Democratic Alliance received 24.64% of the vote.

The election results showed that among all valid votes, the African National Congress led by South African President Ramaphosa received 30.76% of the votes, and the party's main competitor, the Democratic Alliance, received 24.64% of the votes. The National Spear Party led by former President Zuma participated in local government elections for the first time and received 9.77% of the vote.

According to statistics from the Independent Electoral Commission, the turnout rate in this election was 52%, which was higher than the 45.9% in the 2021 local elections.

From a national perspective, the ANC has maintained its traditional advantages in the six provinces of North West, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Free State; while consolidating its support rate advantage in the Western Cape, the Democratic Alliance has made major breakthroughs in the economically powerful province of Gauteng; and the National Spear Party has performed well in KwaZulu-Natal, a province with a concentrated Zulu population.

Ramaphosa congratulated the elected MPs at the local election results announcement ceremony held in the Midrand region of Johannesburg that afternoon. He emphasized that in areas where no party has won an absolute majority, all parties should seek common ground, form the city council as soon as possible and pass the budget on time to ensure that municipal stability and basic services are not affected by political differences.

The local government elections were held on November 4, with voters electing representatives to municipal and town councils across the country. Since no single party has won a majority of seats in many municipalities, after the election, the political parties will start negotiations on the formation of a joint local government. According to relevant regulations, the new town council must hold its first meeting within 14 days after the election results are announced to elect the mayor and other council leaders.

One of the noteworthy changes in this election is that South African local politics has further entered the era of multi-party competition and coalition governance. The results of this local election will also have an impact on the 2029 national election. For the African National Congress, which has been in power in South Africa for a long time, how to improve local governance, promote economic growth and rebuild public trust will be directly related to whether it can reverse the trend of declining support rates year by year. (Headquarters reporter Zhao Yinan)