From Emfuleni in the south to Tshwane in the north, provisional IEC results this afternoon show support for the ANC has fallen across Gauteng in this year’s local government elections.
In Gauteng, South Africa’s most urbanised province, ANC support bled double-digit percentage points in certain areas, according to IEC data just after lunchtime today. With 76% of Gauteng votes verified, the ANC’s support had dropped in Ekurhuleni from 61.72% in 2011 to 48.34% in 2016. In Johannesburg, with votes still coming in, the ANC’s support had fallen 16.75 percentage points – from 58.83% in 2011 to 42.08% in 2016.
In Tshwane, support for the party fell over 14 percentage points since 2011, to 41.19% this year. Support for the ANC plunged by around 10 percentage points in Emfuleni, Midvaal, Lesedi, and Mogale City. In Merafong, ANC support had fallen over 19 percentage points, from 74.48% in 2011 to 54.89% this year.
Unlike provinces such as the Northern Cape, where the ANC won all municipalities, and the Eastern Cape, where the DA won Nelson Mandela Bay, Gauteng was a dead-heat race. In Johannesburg and Tshwane, each party has so far just over 40% with the vote counting still going on.