JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) – South Africa’s ruling party was in a close race early yesterday in two major cities after losing one other key municipality in its worst electoral performance since the end of apartheid.
The African National Congress has ruled virtually unopposed since it ended white-minority rule in 1994 with Nelson Mandela at its helm. But its grip on power is being shaken against the backdrop of high unemployment, a stagnating economy and a series of scandals that have dogged President Jacob Zuma.
The party was still leading in the overall count in the nationwide municipal vote, with 98 percent of ballots counted.
But it lost to the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) in the municipality of Nelson Mandela Bay, which includes the city of Port Elizabeth, a key manufacturing hub and port city.
“We’ve lost Nelson Mandela Bay, we’ve conceded that we’ve lost it,” Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said.
The DA was also narrowly ahead in the country’s economic hub of Johannesburg, while the ANC held a slim margin in Tshwane, home to the capital Pretoria.
The DA, which last year elected its first black leader, Mmusi Maimane, as part of its efforts to shake off its image as a party that mainly serves white interests, has retained control of Cape Town, which it has held since 2006.
“Now we’ve got to do everything in our power to make sure where we govern we govern well,” said Maimane, who declared that his party had won in Tshwane, well before the final tally.
Final results are due late today.
The ANC has lost support among voters who feel their lives have not improved and the opposition has accused Zuma of mismanaging the economy. Millions of urban voters are now looking beyond its liberation struggle credentials and focusing on an economy teetering on the edge of a recession.
