South Africans vote in local elections seen as test for embattled ANC

South Africans are voting in local elections widely viewed as a verdict on the ANC, which led the country out of white minority rule in 1994 but has steadily lost support. A record 29.2 million voters are registered at 23,696 polling stations, and more than 1.4 million special votes were cast before election day. After losing its parliamentary majority in 2024, the ANC could fall below 40 percent in the local vote, polls suggest. In Johannesburg, which has had five mayors in four years, Democratic Alliance candidate Helen Zille may need coalition partners to govern.