Despite suffering a heavy electoral blow in KwaZulu-Natal losing several municipalities which were once its happy hunting ground, the ANC in the province believes not all is lost.
“The results represent a significant electoral setback for the ANC. Nonetheless, we receive this outcome with humility and a clear understanding that the electorate has delivered a message that cannot be ignored or explained away. Compared with the 2021 Local Government Elections, our decline is severe. We have lost more than half of the provincial vote share we won at the local level five years ago,” said Sifiso Sonjica, the party’s KZN spokesperson.
The ANC was however quick to point out that despite the dismal electoral showing, when compared with the 2024 provincial and national elections, the local government election picture depicted the first signs of recovery.
“The ANC’s share of the vote rose to 20.0%, a gain of 3.0 percentage points from 17% in 2024. The recovery is evident in the number of wards won, with the ANC securing 121 wards. It successfully retained 41 of the wards it previously held in 2024 and gained an impressive 80 additional wards. The ANC also received more votes than it did in 2024, rising from 589 739 to 637 083, an increase of 47 344 votes.The ANC views these developments, despite its disappointment with its performance, as green shoots on which the ANC’s recovery must be launched,” he explained.
The liberation movement was completely decimated in councils which were once regarded as its strongholds. These include eThekwini metro, the heart of the provincial economy where the party now pins its hopes on the outcome of coalition talks to claw back to power. The beating was so severe that for the first time in the history of contesting elections, the party was relegated to a third biggest party.
In the 2021 municipal elections, the ANC garnered 96 seats in the metro, making it the biggest party. The number was drastically reduced to a meagre 37 seats following the recent election results, meaning the party lost 59 of the seats it once occupied. eThekwini, the only metro in the province, has a total of 223 council seats. In order to govern the municipality, a party needs at least 113 seats. As it stands, former president Jacob Zuma’s MK Party has the biggest share of seats at 86, the DA claimed 57 seats and the IFP took home 15 of the council seats.
eThekwini was not the only ANC’s electoral misfortune. The party also lost support in some of the province’s strategic municipalities. These include Msunduzi local municipality located in the capital city of Pietermaritzburg where, out of the 81 council seats, the MKP secured 31 while the DA and the ANC claimed 17 seats.
For any party to govern the council, it will need at least 41 seats. In the last elections the ANC had registered 40 council seats. The ANC also bled support in KwaDukuza covering the affluent suburb of Ballito, in the north coast of the province.
In the 44 local municipalities, 34 councils are hung, needing parties to band together in order to secure a governing majority. The overall election results picture announced by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) showed that the MKP was the biggest in KZN, recording 34% of the electoral support. It is followed by both the ANC and IFP respectively. The two KZN government of provincial unity (GPU) partners garnered 20% each while another GPU partner, the DA registered 14% of the provincial vote share. Parties have 14 days to solidify their coalition talks before constituting new municipal councils.