For more than three decades, one name has stood above all others in South African politics. Now, that name is losing its grip.
The African National Congress (ANC), the party that Nelson Mandela led out of apartheid and into democracy in 1994, has suffered a historic defeat in local elections. With 98 percent of the votes counted, the electoral commission announced that the ANC won only 30.95 percent. Its main rival, the liberal Democratic Alliance (DA), a party led by white politicians, followed with 24.56 percent.
The numbers tell a painful story. The ANC has also lost its majority in six of the country’s eight major metropolitan regions. In the 2021 local elections, the party still held nearly 46 percent. In just a few years, it has watched a huge share of its support slip away, according to News ORF.
Political observers say the voters’ message is clear. People are tired of high unemployment, rising crime, deep-rooted corruption, and public services that too often fail to work. The ballot box became a place to express frustration.
Still, the result did not come as a complete shock. In the national elections of June 2024, the ANC lost its absolute majority for the first time. Rather than form a traditional coalition, it created a broad government that includes all the parties represented in parliament. That unusual alliance has governed the country of 65 million people ever since.
The party of liberation, once carried by the hopes of a nation, now faces a harder question: can it win back the trust of the people it promised to serve?
