With 58 percent of ballots counted, the ruling party had won 52.6 percent of the vote and 23 municipal councils, compared to almost 29.05 percent and seven councils for the opposition Democratic Alliance.
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The African National Congress of South Africa suffered a stunning electoral setback in their recent municipal elections.
The Democratic Alliance’s support base in past elections has been mostly mixed and white South Africans, so its success in places like Port Elizabeth suggest the party is gaining support among black South Africans who have traditionally supported the ANC.
The results, which were expected to be concluded on Friday, open up a new era of local coalition politics in South Africa.
The DA past year elected its first black leader, Mmusi Maimane, as part of continued efforts to shake off its image as a party that mainly serves white interests.
“We are now going to do an introspective look at ourselves”, said Cyril Ramaphosa, vice president of both the ANC and the country. The ruling ANC government has been hit by a string of corruption scandals, most notably the $20m funneled into upgrading President Jacob Zuma’s personal home in Nkandla.
The federation is calling on workers to come out and punish the DA for applying some most dishonest tactics to campaign, including using the name of the dead to make their lies sound true and win votes, COSATU national spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said in reference to the DA using the name of Nelson Mandela in its election campaign.
The ANC is now sitting at 54.42 percent nationally, with the DA at 26.25 percent.
African National Congress (ANC) and South African Communist Party (SACP) supporters dance and sing in celebration at Wembezi township near Estcourt some 215 kilometres west of Durban.
Correspondents say a poor ANC performance could embolden Mr Zuma’s rivals within the party to challenge him.
The ANC before the election said it remained the most powerful political force in the country and pointed to the strides it had made in improving the lives of South Africans. But it has also claimed an ANC stronghold in the Eastern Cape community near Mandela’s hometown, Port Elizabeth, and is neck and neck with the ANC for political control of the capitol city of Pretoria and Johannesburg.
The Democratic Alliance angered the ANC last month by declaring that it was the only party that could realise Mr Mandela’s dream of a “prosperous, united and non-racial South Africa”. Zuma has since apologised and said he will repay some of the money as ordered by the court. ANC officials in the area, however, said they were lodging a complaint about 500 dumped ballot papers found there with votes marked for the party.
The next general elections are due in 2019 but Zuma can not stand for a third term as president.
Fitch warned that there is a risk that the ANC turns to more populist policies to address rising voter dissatisfaction with perceived insufficient improvements in living conditions since the end of Apartheid.
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Zuma, 74, who was jailed on Robben Island with Mandela during apartheid, retains deep loyalty within the ANC and in many rural areas, but he could step down before his term ends in 2019.
