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 ANC lost its grip on local government in Tshwane, home of South Africa’s capital Pretoria with the DA winning 43.1 percent of the vote over the ANC’s 41.2 percent, highlighting the declining popularity of the party that led the anti-apartheid struggle. Scandals swirling around President Jacob Zuma have also hurt the ANC.
The area was won by the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) which had its roots as the anti-apartheid party of white liberals.
When all is said and done, following this week’s election, South African citizens and the country’s democracy are the ultimate victor. But with general elections less than three years away, a political sea change is possible for democracy in South Africa.
“It’s a pretty humbling day for the ANC, which is trying to put a positive spin on things”, Al Jazeera’s Tania Page reported from the capital, Pretoria.
The Democratic Alliance already runs the country’s second largest city, Cape Town, the only major municipality where blacks are in the minority among white and mixed-race residents.
The ANC has lost support among voters who feel their lives have not improved and the opposition has accused Zuma of mismanaging the economy.
In Alexandra, a township in Johannesburg where the ANC’s beloved leader Mandela once lived, black voters who had supported the party for years said they had finally given up and wanted to see whether another group could do better.
At the national level, the ANC remains the nation’s top party. But its worst-ever showing signals a watershed moment in the country’s history, especially for an impoverished black majority that is clearly growing disillusioned with the party of Nelson Mandela.
The party of Nelson Mandela has lost key races in South Africa’s municipal elections following a series of corruption scandals.
However, Mr Zuma, jailed on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela during apartheid, retains deep loyalty inside the ANC and in many rural areas, although he can not stand for a third term. Pending final returns from several Johannesburg polling stations the electoral commission was set to announce final results around 1600 GMT.
“I would like to dispute that and say we are a listening organisation.” said Cyril Ramaphosa, vice president of both the ANC and the country.
Zuma survived an impeachment vote in April after the Constitutional Court said he breached the law by ignoring an order to repay some of the US$16 million in state funds spent on renovating his private home.
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The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), led by Julius Malema, was third with 8 per cent and IFP took 5 per cent.
