South Africans vote in local elections dominated by water and power failures

South Africans went to the polls on Wednesday in local government elections dominated by public anger over failing water and electricity supplies, crumbling infrastructure and unemployment above 30 per cent.

The elections determine the leadership of the country's eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district councils and 205 local councils. A record 546 political parties were contesting the polls. Of 29.2 million registered voters, 2.6 million had been approved to vote early, although only 1.4 million did so.

In the days before the vote, parts of Johannesburg had been without water for more than ten days. Mayor Dada Morero attributed the outages to high consumption and leaks in an ageing system. An inquiry by the South African Human Rights Commission found that nearly 45 per cent of water flowing through the city's pipes was lost through poor infrastructure. In Tshwane, residents had earlier been told to stop drinking tap water after some 800 people fell ill.

After casting his vote in Johannesburg, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared that "our democracy is alive", and said the government was determined to rebuild local government. Some voters were less hopeful. "Sometimes we don't have water or electricity. There is also a high unemployment rate," said Moses Mashaba, a 27-year-old street vendor in Soweto.

The African National Congress fell below 50 per cent in the 2021 municipal elections and to just over 40 per cent nationally in 2024, when it was forced into a government of national unity. The Democratic Alliance is expected to retain Cape Town and has targeted Johannesburg, while former President Jacob Zuma's uMkhonto weSizwe party has mounted a strong challenge in Durban.