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Mabuyane blames "regime change" campaign for ANC metro losses

Published

Ongoing: Elections Hot

Eastern Cape ANC chairperson Oscar Mabuyane said on Friday that a sponsored agenda sought to remove the party from the metros. He spoke at the Electoral Commission results centre in KuGompo City as the ANC looked set to lose Buffalo City.

Mabuyane told the media that the ANC was swimming against the tide. He said there was a clear agenda to remove the party from the metros. He also named high unemployment as the party's biggest problem.

The ANC looks set to lose its majority in Buffalo City for the first time. It also performed poorly in Nelson Mandela Bay. Several municipalities in the west of the province returned hung results.

In Makana, ANC support fell from 50.65% in 2021 to 31.27%. The DA won 27.24% and the Makana United Civic Movement won 19.5%.

In Blue Crane Route, the ANC won 45.2%, down from 56.37%, and the DA won 37.5%. In Inxuba Yethemba, the ANC won 42.7%, down from 53%, and the DA won 40.6%.

In Walter Sisulu, the ANC won 47.5%, down from 55.6%, against 23.7% for the DA. In Ndlambe, the ANC won 43%, down from 52.6%, and the DA won 35%.

Key facts

Who
Oscar Mabuyane (Eastern Cape ANC chairperson); African National Congress (governing party whose municipal results are reported); Electoral Commission of South Africa (election body running the results operations centre)
What
Speaking at the IEC results operations centre in KuGompo City, Mabuyane said the ANC was swimming against the tide and that there was a sponsored agenda to remove it from the metros. The article reports the ANC looks set to lose its majority in Buffalo City for the first time and performed poorly in Nelson Mandela Bay, with hung results in several western municipalities.
When
6 November 2026
Where
KuGompo City, Buffalo City, Nelson Mandela Bay
Status
Reported

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