South Africans are voting in local elections widely seen as a verdict on the African National Congress (ANC), the party that led the country out of white minority rule in 1994 but has steadily lost support over the past decade.
asserted
that → vote → decade
Polls opened at 7am (05:00 GMT) on Wednesday and close at 9pm (19:00 GMT).
asserted
Polls → open → pm
A record 29.2 million people are registered to vote at 23,696 voting stations, according to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).
uncertain
people → register → Africa
More than 1.4 million special votes were cast on Monday and Tuesday.
asserted
votes → cast → Monday
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Voters are electing councils for the country’s eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district councils and 205 local councils.
asserted
Voters → beat → municipalities
Those councils then choose mayors.
asserted
councils → choose → mayors
The ANC fell below 50 percent in municipal polls for the first time in 2021.
asserted
ANC → fall → 2021
In the 2024 national election, it lost its parliamentary majority and was forced into a coalition government with the Democratic Alliance (DA) and other parties.
asserted
it → lose → Alliance
Polls suggest the ANC’s support could drop below 40 percent this time.
uncertain
support → suggest → percent
“Municipal failures have contributed to declining public trust and confidence in democratic governance,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his weekly newsletter, “From the Desk of the President”.
asserted
Ramaphosa → contribute → President
Ramaphosa is due to vote at Hyde Park High School in Johannesburg, the presidency said.
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presidency → vote → Johannesburg
The country’s financial capital has had five mayors in four years.
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capital → have → years
The DA has fielded its 75-year-old former leader, Helen Zille, for the city’s top job.
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DA → field → job
Her campaign stunts included snorkelling in a mud-filled trench that was flooded by a burst municipal water pipe.
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that → include → pipe
A News24 poll put Zille at 36 percent, meaning she would need coalition partners, particularly the ANC, to govern.
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partners → put → percent
Zille told the Associated Press news agency that the ANC was “in free fall”.
asserted
ANC → tell → fall
This is the first local vote for former President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, which is mounting a strong challenge in the coastal city of Durban.
asserted
which → mount → Durban
“We are going to start by taking back our country here,” Zuma told supporters in the city on Sunday, the AFP news agency reported.
asserted
agency → go → Sunday
Durban has become a centre of anti-migrant sentiment, a prominent theme in the campaign.
asserted
Durban → become → campaign
Only 46 percent of registered voters took part in the 2021 municipal elections.
asserted
percent → register → elections
Coalition government is already widespread: 74 of the country’s 257 municipalities were run by coalitions or minority administrations as of February, according to the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection.
Security has also been tightened.
uncertain
Security → run → Reflection
Police said 21 election-related cases have been recorded since Sunday.
asserted
cases → say → Sunday
KwaZulu-Natal has 165 voting stations classed as high risk, the most of any province.
asserted
Natal → have → province
Final results are expected on Sunday.
asserted
results → expect → Sunday
They are expected to shape the race to succeed Ramaphosa as ANC leader at the party’s conference in December 2027.
asserted
They → expect → December
The Aporia
