The ANC are still in the lead (with some 54% of the vote) but they have lost Nelson Mandela Bay and are battling it out with the DA over Jozi and Pretoria.
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Since the end of apartheid, the ANC had enjoyed an iron electoral grip on these areas.
The political shift in this municipal election could have major ramifications for the 2019 presidential vote – and the DA is already beginning to look ahead.
Zuma, 74, retains deep loyalty within the party and in many rural areas, but he could step down before his term ends in 2019.
This is the party’s weakest result in an.
ANC parliamentary whip Jackson Mthembu, said the losses for the post-apartheid party – once headed by late President Nelson Mandela – were a “worrying trend”.
The Democratic Alliance has its roots in white liberal opposition to apartheid and remained a white-led party until previous year.
Up to this point, the ANC has basically been counting on historic support from blacks all over South Africa to win elections, but that support continues to disappear. Voters are expressing discontent over the country’s unemployment rate and recent corruption scandals.
South Africa’s ruling African National Congress has been dealt a huge blow in municipal elections.
The radical leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party led by Julius Malema, Zuma’s one-time protege but now arch-foe, was running a distant third with about 10 per cent of the vote.
Political analysts however, have highlighted that the Red Berets could become the kingmaker in the two major metros, where the ANC and DA are neck and neck and an official decision is yet to be announced.
Neither it nor the ANC appeared to have a majority in Johannesburg or Tshwane that would allow it to govern alone, raising the possibility of coalition governments. “I would like to dispute that and say we are a listening organisation”.
Zuma rattled investors in December by changing finance ministers twice in a week, sending the rand currency plummeting. Zuma has since apologised and said he will repay some of the money as ordered by the court.
The ANC has said “we will reflect and introspect where our support has dropped”.
“The DA has a lot more appeal than before”, said 30-year-old Port Elizabeth township resident Chimone Ferreira, who voted for the DA for the first time this week.
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The rand held its ground close to a nine-month high against the dollar early on Friday, partly boosted by the smooth running of the elections. Votes are still being counted in the economic center of Johannesburg, and Granitz reported the DA is claiming victory there, too.
