South Africa Votes in Local Elections for Nearly 300 Municipalities

South Africa is holding local elections on 4 November to choose leaders for nearly 300 municipalities. These local councils are responsible for basic services, including water, electricity and refuse collection, and the vote is closely watched as a test of the African National Congress (ANC).

The ANC lost its parliamentary majority in the country's last national election, the first time it had done so since 1994, when apartheid, the system of racial segregation, ended. The BBC reports that the party won 70% of the vote in the 2004 general election, a share that fell to 40% two decades later.

In the last local elections, in 2021, the ANC received 46% of the vote. An Ipsos poll put its support at 30% ahead of this vote. Reuters reported that the local polls were expected to weaken the ANC's grip further, and that no party was expected to win a major metropolitan area outright. Coalition governments, in which several parties share power, were considered likely. The Associated Press said the results will determine control of the country's major cities.

At the ANC's final election rally on Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa told supporters that the party is going "higher and higher." He said it would show its critics the result on 4 November.

The South African rand, the country's currency, softened ahead of the municipal vote, according to Reuters.

Daily life in the areas that will elect these councils has been a major theme for voters. A week before the election, the BBC visited Alexandra, a township north-east of Johannesburg, and spoke to residents. Sanele Ntombela, an 18-year-old voting for the first time, told the BBC that residents face rubbish problems everywhere and struggle with electricity and water.

In Soweto, 45-year-old resident Mduduzi Makhubo told the BBC that his community struggles every day with access to water and electricity. "Every Monday we know we won't have water after 2pm," he said.