South Africans are casting their ballots in local elections, a vote seen as a significant assessment of the African National Congress (ANC), the party that led the nation out of white minority rule. The ANC has experienced a steady decline in support over the past decade.
The elections will determine the leadership for South Africa's eight major city municipalities and its numerous district and local councils. Johannesburg, the country's largest city and economic hub, is a critical battleground. Despite its status as a major African city, Johannesburg faces significant challenges with water and electricity supply, issues that have fueled public frustration with local government performance.
The mayoral position in Johannesburg has seen frequent changes, with five different mayors in the last four years. The city is currently led by an ANC-dominated coalition, but the Democratic Alliance (DA), the country's second-largest party, is vying for control. Helen Zille, the DA's former national leader, is campaigning for the mayoral seat, employing various public demonstrations to highlight perceived failures of the ANC and other parties in managing Johannesburg.
In South Africa, voters elect council members who then choose the mayors. Smaller parties often play a decisive role in forming local government coalitions. The ANC's electoral performance has been on a downward trend, securing less than 50% of the vote in the last local elections in 2021 for the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994. This decline continued into the 2024 national elections, where the ANC lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in 30 years, leading to the formation of a national unity government with the DA and other parties.
Despite their partnership in the national government, the ANC and DA are direct competitors in these local elections. Zille's mayoral bid in Johannesburg will test the DA's ability to gain traction beyond its traditional stronghold in Cape Town.
These elections also mark the first local contest for the MK Party, led by former South African President Jacob Zuma. Zuma, who resigned as president in 2018 amid corruption allegations and was later expelled from the ANC, launched his new party, which made a notable debut in the 2024 national elections as the third-largest party in Parliament. The MK Party holds considerable support in Zuma's home province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Key issues driving voter sentiment across the country include inadequate public services, particularly unreliable water supplies, high rates of crime and unemployment, and growing concerns over immigration. Protests against undocumented migration have gained prominence, with some parties incorporating anti-immigration platforms into their local election campaigns.