Political newcomer sweeps wards to knock ANC off its Tsantsabane throne in Northern Cape - IOL

A woman walks pass an IEC poster at the National Results Operation Centre in Midrand. |

A small community movement registered about nine months ago has toppled the ANC in Tsantsabane to seize outright control of the Northern Cape municipality.

Rise Tsantsabane Communities took seven of the 13 council seats, sweeping all ward contests across the mining belt to govern Postmasburg without entering a coalition.

The party took 43.8% of the vote in the council.

The organisation, led by Michael Mabilo, was registered with the commission on February 18 following community protests over municipal infrastructure and local mining employment.

The ANC, which previously held an outright majority of seven seats, was cut to three seats after managing 28.7% of the vote in the council.

The DA, EFF and PA secured one seat each.

The defeat in Tsantsabane formed part of a broader contraction for the ANC across the Northern Cape, where 17 municipal councils hung as vote counting reached 99%.

The 17 hung municipalities marked a sharp increase from the 10 recorded after the 2021 municipal elections.

The ANC secured 41.57% of the provincial vote and outright control of seven councils, while the DA took 21.72% and won 93 council seats.

The EFF placed third with 9.16%, followed by the PA on 8.42%.

The Tsantsabane upset mirrored an increasingly fractured picture across the country, where local outfits and splinter parties eroded traditional majorities.

Nationally, 76 councils were hung as counting crossed the 71% threshold on Friday morning.

Out of 213 municipalities across the country, only 31 councils were won with outright majorities.

The ANC held 21 of those councils, while the DA took six and MKP secured three.

Breakaway outfits took the remaining two, with Rise Tsantsabane Communities taking Tsantsabane and the Service Delivery Party claiming control of Victor Khanye.

The national tally had the ANC at 31.89% of the vote, with the DA on 24.55% and MKP in third spot on 9.09%.

In Gauteng, counting trends pointed to hung councils across all nine municipalities, leaving Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni bound for coalition negotiations.

Commission figures showed about 15.9m South Africans cast ballots from a total roll of 29.2m registered voters, placing estimated voter turnout at 54.4%.

Gauteng recorded the highest voter participation rate in the country.

The commission said remaining results from 106 outstanding councils were expected at the weekend before final declarations are signed off.