ANC NEC Declares Democratic Alliance a ‘Last Resort’ for Coalition Talks at Local Municipalities

• The African National Congress's National Executive Committee met on 12 November 2026
• The NEC met to discuss the party's worst-ever performance in the local government elections
• South Africans took to social media to weigh in on the ANC's decision regarding the Democratic Alliance

Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has spent a decade reporting on South Africa's political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online journalism.

GAUTENG — The African National Congress has resolved that the Democratic Alliance should only be considered as a last resort when forming coalition governments at local municipality level, following an extended National Executive Committee meeting held on 12 November 2026.

The closed session took place at the Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre in Boksburg. It was convened specifically to assess the ANC's performance in the 2026 Local Government Elections, held on 4 November, in which the party recorded its lowest vote share in a democratic election.

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The ANC's national support dropped to 30.76% in the 2026 local government polls, down from 45.59% in the 2021 municipal elections. The result left 127 of 213 municipal councils without an outright majority, creating widespread coalition requirements across the country.

The ANC blames the DA for the performance

According to SABC News, a number of NEC members present attributed the sharp decline to the party's partnership with the DA inside the Government of National Unity (GNU), arguing that the alliance had alienated the ANC's traditional voter base.

The resolution to designate the DA as a last resort in coalition negotiations emerged directly from that assessment. President Cyril Ramaphosa also reportedly said that the ANC in Johannesburg should look to form coalitions without the DA.

Social media users react to NEC's decision

South Africans were quick to respond to the news online, with many questioning whether the ANC had engaged in genuine introspection about the election outcome.

@rudz_16 wrote:

"Not service delivery failures? No self-reflection. There is no hope for these people."

@luckymouseme commented:

"Their poor performance cost them a lot; with this attitude, it will be a bloodbath in the next elections."

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@FloydWisan90055 asked:

"Sober thinking, but why did they allow the DA to come and dictate the way forward for the GNU? Because surely, the GNU is the DA's playground."

@WhiteRhino111 stated:

"The ANC don't like honest people or parties."

@Hoerang26 added:

"It is true. They showed weakness by kneeling before the DA."

Michael Beaumont names DA members ActionSA won't work with

Briefly News also reported that ActionSA's Michael Beaumont clarified that the party's coalition tensions are not with the DA as a whole.

The party's National Chairperson named two members of the DA as individuals he believed had proven incapable of managing coalition arrangements.

Beaumont used an example of ActionSA Member of Parliament Athol Trollip advocating for working with the DA in Nelson Mandela Bay as proof of this.

Source: Briefly News