Support for the ANC in South Africa’s major cities falls ahead of local elections

Mangaung and Buffalo City, where the DA is projected to lead. In Buffalo City, the DA may receive 33%, the ANC 29%, and the EFF 27%; in 2021, the ANC won 59.43% there. In Mangaung, the DA is projected at 36%, the ANC at 32%, the EFF at 17%, and MK at 5%, while in the previous local elections the ANC received 50.63%. In Johannesburg, Ipsos expects the ANC to receive 31% and the DA 28%, followed by ActionSA with 14% and the EFF with 8%. At the same time, a study by The Common Sense and SRF in the second quarter of 2026 showed a different distribution: DA — 42%, ANC — 18%, MK — 13%.