ANC Support Falls Below 50% for First Time in South African Vote
- Municipal vote had lowest turnout in at least two decades
- Opposition DA and EFF parties obtained 21.8% and 10.4% of vote
An ANC local election campaign poster featuring Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa's president, in Pretoria, South Africa.
Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The African National Congress’s share of the South African vote fell below 50% for the first time since apartheid ended more than a quarter century ago.
The party secured 46% of the ballots cast in the Nov. 1 municipal election, down from 54% in the previous local-government poll five years ago, the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa said on Thursday. The opposition Democratic Alliance garnered 21.8% of the vote, down from 27% in 2016, while the populist Economic Freedom Fighters got 10.4%, compared with 8.2%.