Thsi happened during this week's by-elections in eight provinces.
Limpopo, the ANC province that complained bitterly about irregularities owing to infighting, had the highest number of by-elections.
Of the seven wards in contention in Limpopo, six were as a result of resignations by ANC councillors. The resignations stem from a report by ANC national executive committee member Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in November 2012 that recommended that councillors elected irregularly must step down.
The ANC, however, managed to retain control of five wards, with the Pan Africanist Congress taking control of a ward in Thohoyandou and an independent candidate winning a ward in Burgersfort. The two wards used to be run by the ruling party.
ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said: "Regardless of the negative implication of the decision, the ANC demonstrated its seriousness when it comes to its internal democratic practices. "
Said an ANC leader in Limpopo: "There was pressure from within with people saying processes were not followed with local government elections. It was good that they were forced to resign. You can't act on something and then bury the recommendations."
Vacant
In the Free State, the ANC lost the by-election in the Setsoto municipality (Senekal) to independent candidate Morena Mabeleng. The Setsoto ward was previously represented by the ANC, but it became vacant after the party's councillor resigned his position.
In Metsimaholo (Sasolburg), the ANC's Nokuthula Mtshali won, ensuring that the ANC retained the ward after the resignation of the former councillor.
Setsoto and Metsimaholo have been hit by a series of service delivery protests in recent years. Setsoto's town of Ficksburg made news headlines after police shot protester Andries Tatane following a service delivery march in April 2011.
Zamdela township, which falls under Metsimaholo, also experienced violent protests this year, when residents marched in the township and Sasolburg to vent their anger at a proposed demarcation of their region.
The ANC retained two wards in the Eastern Cape. One of them, Ward 5 in Elundini municipality [Mount Fletcher], was uncontested, with the ANC's Bandile Nicholas Nqodi running as the only candidate. The seat became vacant when the previous councillor died. In the Engcobo municipality, the ANC's Nceba Hokwana won 86% of the vote.
Resignation
The Democratic Alliance and Congress of the People decided not to contest the only by-election in the Northern Cape. Instead, they supported independent candidate Paul Vries. His victory means that a coalition will now run the municipality.
The DA retained a ward in Hessequa municipality in the Western Cape, ending the ANC's recent good run in the province.
The ANC in the North West botched the process to contest the Delareyville ward in the Tswaing municipality by failing to register its candidate, leaving the DA to retain the ward. Mthembu said the ANC was investigating the issue. However, the ANC retained the Rustenburg ward following the death of its councillor.
Gauteng only had one by-election in which the DA retained its ward in the Fourways suburb in Johannesburg, left vacant by a resignation.
The DA hopes to challenge the ANC for the governance of Gauteng next year and the party is increasing efforts to demonstrate its readiness to lead.
In Mpumalanga, the three contested wards remained in their original hands: the DA retained two wards in Nelspruit, and the ANC held on to the Nkomazi ward.