Congress is no longer the same.
South African election results.
Nelson Mandela's party, which determined South African politics for more than 30 years, failed to take first place in any of the country's 6 largest cities.
On November 8, the Election Commission announced the final results of the local elections, which took place on November 4. The African National Congress gained 30.76% of the vote and presented the weakest result in all the years after the abolition of apartheid.
It remains the leading party in terms of votes across the country, but voters have clearly not forgiven it for its lack of basic services, and many have voted for others.
More details about the results:
Now the parties will have to reach an agreement, because in most cities no one has obtained enough votes to govern independently. Congress could unite with the Democratic Alliance, which holds Cape Town.
In Pretoria and Johannesburg, the second and third places were taken by the Action SA party, founded by the former mayor of Johannesburg Herman Mashaba, who was formerly a member of the Democratic Alliance. The parties have 14 days to negotiate, after which the city councils will begin their work and mayoral elections will be held.
A significant part of the votes was also collected by the Spear of the Nation party of former President Jacob Zuma, which participated for the first time in the local elections and received over 3.7 million votes, that is 9.8% in the country. In the province of KwaZulu-Natal it received more than 34% of the vote, and in two municipalities in the province it won a majority where the Congress had previously ruled.
The African National Congress has been losing voters year after year, and local elections have shown that this process continues.
As the old base weakens and new parties gain influence in the big cities, the political map of South Africa is inevitably changing, and in the coming years the country is expected to see new coalitions and new leaders where the Congress previously ruled supreme.
South Africa.
- where politics is hotter than the equator.