South Africans are voting in closely watched local government elections on Wednesday, with political parties competing for control of major cities in a contest expected to offer an indication of the country’s political mood ahead of the 2029 general elections.
The election comes as voters grapple with deteriorating infrastructure, water shortages, persistent inequality and unemployment exceeding 30 per cent, fuelling public dissatisfaction with the political establishment.
Polling stations opened at 7:00 am local time and are scheduled to close at 9:00 pm.
“I want things to change… people must get work. People mustn’t suffer,” said Thembinkosi Somana, 50, who was first in line to cast his ballot at a polling station in Langa, Cape Town.
In Johannesburg, Andrea Smith, 41, who works in human resources, arrived at a polling station with her husband and child, expressing hope that the election would bring wider changes to the country.
“We shouldn’t be having to worry about electricity and water. It’s been going on for years,” she told AFP.
More than 29 million voters are registered for the election. However, turnout has been a major concern, with fewer than half of registered voters participating in the 2021 municipal elections, when turnout stood at 46 per cent.
The Electoral Commission said on Tuesday that only 1.4 million of the 2.6 million people approved to cast special votes over two days had done so.
The African National Congress (ANC), which led South Africa’s liberation struggle, is still projected to emerge as the largest party nationally, although polls indicate a further decline in its support.
The party, which dominated South African politics for decades after the end of apartheid, lost its outright majority for the first time in the 2021 municipal elections, securing less than 50 per cent of the vote.
It suffered further losses in the 2024 national elections, winning just over 40 per cent and subsequently forming a government of national unity with nine other parties.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), the country’s second-largest party, is targeting Johannesburg, campaigning on concerns over service delivery in the city, traditionally an ANC stronghold.
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Meanwhile, the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, led by former president Jacob Zuma, is seeking to strengthen its position in Durban, the east coast port city where it has mounted a significant challenge.
The party made a major electoral breakthrough in 2024, attracting support from the ANC and finishing third nationally with 14.5 per cent of the vote.
“We are going to start by taking back our country here,” Zuma said on Sunday in Durban, where anti-migrant sentiment has featured prominently in the election campaign.
Coalition Government In Focus
South Africans are electing municipal councillors who will subsequently choose mayors and form the administrations responsible for running their cities and local authorities.
With outright majorities uncertain in several major cities, the election could trigger another round of coalition negotiations as parties seek alliances to secure control of municipal governments.
Coalition arrangements are already common in the country’s local government system. According to the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, 74 of South Africa’s 257 municipalities were governed by coalitions or minority administrations as of February 2026.
The final results, expected on Sunday, are expected to provide a clearer picture of the country’s political landscape ahead of the next general election in 2029.
The outcome could also shape the future of the ANC, which is scheduled to elect a new leader at its December 2027 conference. The leadership contest is expected to influence the party’s direction ahead of the next national polls.
Political analyst Kingsley Makhubela said the election would likely be determined by voters’ everyday experiences rather than longstanding political loyalties.
He pointed to basic service delivery issues, including access to water and electricity, road conditions and sewage management, describing them as “bread and butter issues”.
“People are not going to vote on sentiments,” the former diplomat told AFP.
Makhubela also said coalition governments could encourage a culture of political tolerance in South Africa’s increasingly fragmented political landscape, where political opponents have often been treated as enemies.