ANC Backs Ramaphosa as Calls for His Resignation Grow After Election Loss

Following the ANC’s underwhelming showing in the 2026 local elections, President Cyril Ramaphosa has received the party’s support. Officials there have denied rumors that he offered to resign as president. ANC spokeswoman Mahlengi Bhengu said that despite mounting criticism of the election results, party leadership has not pushed Ramaphosa to step down, and that he has no intention of leaving office.

During Thursday’s special National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting at Boksburg’s Birchwood Hotel, Bhengu addressed reporters. She begged the people of South Africa to disregard the predictions made regarding his future. No one in the leadership group has demanded that the president step down, she added, so the leadership is still behind him.

She went on to defend his campaign role as well. Bhengu argues that Ramaphosa shouldn’t be expected to step down due to the disappointing outcome, as he led the party’s efforts to garner votes and traveled across the nation.

The final results were announced by the Electoral Commission of South Africa four days after the special NEC meeting. The ANC’s share of the national municipal vote was 30.76 percent, down from 45.59 percent in the previous local government election in 2021. This 14.83 percentage point decline has renewed scrutiny of Ramaphosa’s leadership and the trajectory of the party.

Thoughts from former ANC president Thabo Mbeki have been heard as well. If the rumors of a resignation offer were accurate, he stated, Ramaphosa would be doing the right thing. He thinks it’s the democratic thing to do for a leader to step down when they’re responsible for such a bad outcome.

Bhengu further discussed the need of coalitions in local governments when no single political party received a majority of the vote. According to her, the African National Congress (ANC) has not initiated coalition talks despite multiple parties approaching it about possible power-sharing agreements.

She claimed the party’s platform includes enough knowledge of local government and the necessary policies and programs to direct the provision of services. She thinks the ANC should investigate and rectify other shortcomings rather than blame a lack of policy or knowledge for the issues plaguing ANC-led municipalities. In addition, she emphasized that the ANC is prepared to take into account voter concerns and learn from the outcome.

As she put it, the party will not employ a cookie-cutter approach with each coalition. She pointed out that eThekwini and Johannesburg are two municipalities that will require different evaluations due to their unique political situations. Although the ANC intends to address each municipality independently, it remains open to discussions with other parties.

Regarding the accuracy of the information you shared, it was stated in a previous article that the ANC’s share was approximately 31% and that the reports of resignation were coming from insiders of the NEC.

Since the party in question denies the allegations categorically, it might be beneficial to cover the two stories concurrently in order to present all sides fairly. The spokesperson’s name is given as “Bhengu” in the original, but it was previously written as “Bhengu-Mashigo”; thus, we kindly request that you confirm the correct form.

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