Explainer: ANC, DA and EFF Lose Significant Support, 4 Hung Metros in Gauteng and Eastern Cape
- The African National Congress was unable to win back any of the metropolitan municipalities it lost control of in the 2016 local government elections
- The Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters lost a lot of voter support at the City of Tshwane
- The DA has now lost its majority and Nelson Mandela Bay and the ANC came in a close second by a fraction
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JOHANNESBURG - The 2021 municipal elections results have left some political organisations scrambling to form coalition governments since over 60 municipalities countrywide are now hung.
In most of the municipalities, the African National Congress either lost the majority or failed to win back the majority they lost in the 2016 municipal elections.
Source: Getty Images
No outright winner in the City of Tshwane
In the Gauteng province, the ruling party lost even more popularity than it did in 2016. In the City of Tshwane municipality, which is the country's capital, the ANC and the Democratic Alliance fell short of a majority.
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The ANC managed to get 34.31% of voter support, while the DA got 32.34%. The Economic Freedom Fighters came in third of 10.52% of votes, according to the South African Government website.
The City of Tshwane was previously governed by a coalition formed by the DA and EFF but it seems as though that coalition will not happen again because DA leader John Steenhuisen has gone on the record to say the DA will not work with the EFF or ANC, according to News24.
City of Johannesburg will be governed by a coalition
In the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan municipality, the top three leading political parties, the ANC, DA and EFF all dropped in support from the 2016 municipal elections. According to The Citizen, in 2016 the ANC managed to get 44.5% of votes, the DA 38.41%, and the EFF 11.09%.
2021 results left the ANC with 33.60% of voter support, the DA 26.47% and the EFF falling out from the third position completely. The new political organisation on the block, ActionSA managed to score 16.05% of voter support.
The City of Johannesburg was governed by a coalition government formed by the ANC, DA and EFF in 2016, however with ActionSA and DA both refusing to partner up with the ANC it is unclear what will happen in this metro.
ANC loses majority in the City of Ekuhuruleni
The City of Ekuhuruleni had no outright majority after vote counting was completed. The ANC not only lost voter support but also lost the majority it held in 2016.
The ANC got 38.19% of votes in 2021 and 48.64% in 2016, while the DA scored 28.72% in 2021 and 34.15%. The EFF got 13.57% which is an increase in support since 2016 where the party only got 11.23%.
ActionSA managed to make a mark in the metro and got 6.6% of voter support.
DA loses control of Nelson Mandela Bay municipality
The DA and the ANC might have to entertain the possibility of forming a coalition government as both political organisations are neck and neck in the metro.
The DA can no longer govern the municipality on its own as it managed to get 39.92%, with the ANC coming in second at 39.43%. The EFF came in third with 6.40%.
Both the DA and ANC will have to form coalitions with smaller parties if they hope to govern the municipality without the other.
IFP refuses to form coalitions with ANC in KZN hung councils
Briefly News previously reported that in many parts of KwaZulu-Natal there was no single party majority, which resulted in hung councils. The parties who got the most votes in these areas are facing possible coalition governments but some say they do not want this.
One such party is the IFP, which has announced that they refuse to form coalitions with the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal. The IFP argues that voters clearly did not want the ANC to govern and the ruling party has disappointed South Africans.
Velenkosini Hlabisa, president of the IFP, has said that the increase of votes they received this election is proof that KwaZulu-Natal residents trust them more than the ANC, News24 reports.
Source: Briefly News
