Motlanthe says ANC must fix services after election losses
Ongoing: Elections Hot
Former president Kgalema Motlanthe told journalists in Cape Town on Monday that voters judge parties on basic services. He said the ANC still won more wards than any other party in the 2026 local government elections.
Motlanthe said the ANC's poor result should be a wake-up call. He said the party must fix failing municipalities. He added that local government elections turn on people's daily experience, not on political ideology. He spoke on the sidelines of a conference of the Eastern and Southern African Commission on Drugs, which he chairs.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula spoke on Saturday. He said the party recognised voters' disillusionment and would not question the judgement of former supporters who backed other parties or stayed away. He promised a thorough assessment of the outcome.
The ANC won more than 50% of the vote in Limpopo, the only province where it did so. Its support in the Western Cape fell to 14.69%, from 20.38% in the 2021 elections. The Democratic Alliance overtook the ANC in all three Gauteng metropolitan municipalities, and ActionSA made gains in several township wards.
Key facts
- Who
- Kgalema Motlanthe (Former president; chairperson of the Eastern and Southern African Commission…); Fikile Mbalula (ANC secretary-general); African National Congress (Governing party whose local government election performance is discussed); Democratic Alliance (Party that overtook the ANC in all three Gauteng metropolitan municipalities)
- What
- Motlanthe told journalists in Cape Town that the ANC's poor election performance should be a wake-up call and that voters judge on basic services. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said on Saturday the party recognised voters' disillusionment and that it would conduct a thorough assessment of the outcome.
- When
- 9 November 2026
- Where
- Cape Town, Limpopo, Gauteng
- Status
- Reported