THE African National Congress (ANC) has hit rock bottom after recording its worst electoral performance in history.
Provisional results from the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) show the ruling party’s national vote share has plummeted to a shocking 31.06% in the November 2026 Local Government Elections.
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Political analyst Sandile Swana said the writing has been on the wall for nearly two decades, pointing out that the party has failed to fix its internal crises.
“The African National Congress (ANC) has experienced a steady and continuous decline in its electoral support across all national and local government elections since 2009. However there was never a successful electoral turnaround intervention since 2009. This structural downward trajectory culminated in the November 2026 Local Government Elections (LGE), where the final provisional results from the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) show the ANC’s national vote share plummeting to roughly 31% (specifically 31.06%). This represents the worst performance in the party’s history,” said Swana.
The numbers tell a painful story for the liberation movement. In 2009, the ANC enjoyed a massive 65.90% of the national vote.
By 2016, the cracks started showing when support dropped to 53.91%, costing the party control of key metros like Joburg and Tshwane.
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Things got worse in 2024 when the party dropped to 40.18%, losing its 30-year parliamentary majority and being forced into a National Unity Government.
Now, the 2026 local elections have delivered the final blow, falling nearly 14 percentage points below its 2021 performance of 45.60%.
Frustrated voters have clearly punished the ruling party at the polls.
Millions of South Africans are tired of dry taps, uncollected rubbish, endless potholes, and corrupt councillors who only care about their own pockets.
With the ANC completely rejected by the majority of voters, the country is now firmly entering a new era of messy coalition politics in municipalities across Mzansi.
