The ruling African National Congress received fewer than half of the votes cast in local government elections, a severe rebuke from South African voters.

Widespread corruption, continuously high unemployment rates, catastrophic power outages, and inefficient government service delivery were hot campaign topics. 

The ANC received 46 percent of the vote in the results revealed Thursday night, down from 54 percent in the last municipal elections five years ago.

As a result, the party will have fewer councils and mayors in both large and small communities across the country.

It is the first time that Nelson Mandela’s party has gotten fewer than half of the votes cast in any election in Africa’s most developed country.

The ANC, led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, has routinely lost ground in municipal elections, which are frequently viewed as a perfect chance for voters to cast protest ballots. 

President Ramaphosa said that his party will have to build partnerships in order to control major cities. 

“If we are to make this a new and better era, we as leaders must put aside our differences and work together in a spirit of partnership, of cooperation and collaboration and common purpose in the interest of the people of South Africa,” said Ramaphosa, announcing the results at the election centre in Pretoria.

Looking ahead to the 2024 general elections, the ANC’s prospects are bleak.

The municipal polls also set the stage for the country’s transformation into a more complex multiparty democracy, moving away from the fantasy of a “rainbow nation” and toward the reality of balancing several opposing interests. 

(With inputs from agencies)