ANC KZN counts losses as coalition talks loom

“The electorate has delivered a message that cannot be ignored or explained away,” the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal says.

In a statement that acknowledges and accepts the outcome of the 2026 Local Government Elections, which the party’s own secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has called a “catastrophic disaster”, the provincial branch of the former liberation movement said it has fallen short.

“To give an honest account of our performance, we have measured our results against two points of reference.

“Compared with the 2021 Local Government Elections, our decline is severe. We have lost more than half of the provincial vote share we won at the local level five years ago,” it said.

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The provincial branch added that the picture was not all bad, as there was a slight improvement in its performance in the 2024 general elections.

In 2024, the ANC’s provincial support nosedived from nearly 55% in 2019 to 17% due to, among other things, accusations of arrogance, delays in infrastructure development and service delivery, and the emergence of former president Jacob Zuma’s MKP.

Last week’s elections saw the party’s share of the vote rise to 20.0%.

“The recovery is evident in the number of wards won, with the ANC securing 121 wards. It successfully retained 41 of the wards it previously held in 2024 and gained an impressive 80 additional wards.

The ANC also received more votes than it did in 2024, rising from 589 739 to 637 083, an increase of 47 344 votes.”

The provincial branch added that the green shoot does not overshadow the overall dismal performance and that the party will proceed to focus on introspection and organisational renewal.

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The remarks come against the backdrop of the party’s national office bearers [the top seven, the National Working Committee (NWC), and the National Executive Committee (NEC)] deciding on a position and strategy on coalitions, which is expected to be communicated publicly on Friday this week.

The top seven have reportedly been meeting daily, while the NWC met yesterday and the NEC will meet on Thursday.

Today the ANC National Working Committee met at the ANC Headquarters Luthuli House to deliberate on the Local Government Elections and chart a way forward. The task at hand is to have councils which best serve primarily the interests of our people. #ANCatWORK pic.twitter.com/Z3HmngDC8U

While a firm stance on coalitions in local government is being developed, Mbalula said he and other members of the party’s top brass will engage with parties for “talks about talks” as, after an election, a government has to form within two weeks.

The secretary-general, in a nearly two-hour press briefing on Saturday, said the party has already adopted a stance that it would not beg “with a cap in hand” for positions in municipalities and that, in some cases, it could enter the opposition benches.

He said the party’s main objective is to provide stability, which will facilitate reliable service delivery.

In KwaZulu-Natal, the two biggest cities — Pietermaritzburg and Durban — have produced no outright winner.

Pietermaritzburg was previously led by the ANC with an outright majority, while Durban was led by the ANC through a coalition.