JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) retained its position as the country's largest political party in the 2026 local government elections despite a sharp decline in voter support.
The results released by the Electoral Commission of South Africa on Sunday showed that the ANC, led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, received 30.76 percent of the votes counted nationwide, down more than 14 percentage points from the previous local elections in 2021.
The ANC's main rival, the Democratic Alliance (DA), secured 24.64 percent. The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, led by former President Jacob Zuma, won 9.76 percent in its first contest in local government elections.
The results also point to a changing balance of political forces across the country. The ANC maintained its lead in several of its traditional strongholds, while the DA made significant gains in major urban centers, particularly in Gauteng. The MK Party emerged as a major political force in KwaZulu-Natal, where it drew substantial support.
In the closely watched contests across South Africa's eight metropolitan municipalities, the ANC was leading in Buffalo City and Mangaung, while the DA emerged as the largest party in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Nelson Mandela Bay. The MK Party led in eThekwini, which includes the coastal city of Durban. ■
