Nelson Mandela's Party Suffers Record Low Vote Share in South Africa Local Polls

The African National Congress has won just 30.76 percent of the vote in local body polls across South Africa this week, marking its worst election result in history. This latest defeat comes two years after the party was forced into a coalition government for the first time since the end of apartheid. The organization that once led the anti-apartheid struggle under Nelson Mandela and ruled national politics for nearly thirty years is now losing public support at every election.

Context

Mass political movements that successfully fight for national liberation often struggle to manage everyday governance and public expectations decades later. Corruption scandals and internal fighting within long-ruling parties commonly drive voters toward alternative political options. In democratic systems, sustained economic trouble and high unemployment routinely weaken the grip of dominant ruling groups over time.