South Africa's ANC takes a beating

South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) was dealt a stinging blow in last week's municipal elections, weakening its hand in coalition talks that will follow to form city governments.



The ANC ended up with 30.76% of the vote against 24.64% for its main rival, the Democratic Alliance (DA).



Former President Jacob Zuma's party uMkhonto weSizwe had 9.76% of votes, putting it in third place, while the rest was split between hundreds of smaller parties.



The outcome marks a further painful setback for the ANC, which has seen its vote share fall steadily in local elections over the last 15 years due largely to failures in basic services such as water and electricity.



The former liberation movement got 45.59% of votes in the last municipal elections in 2021.



Since no party won more than 50% of votes in many cities including South Africa's commercial hub Johannesburg, the ANC and DA will have to team up, or hash it out with smaller parties to form majority municipal governments.



The number of municipalities where coalitions will be needed more than doubled from 2021, reflecting a fragmentation of South Africa's electorate.