The ANC will take what it gets - Mbalula
The African National Congress (ANC) has accepted its poor performance in the local government elections, says elections head Fikile Mbalula.
The party dropped from 54.49% of the national vote in the 2016 local government elections to 46.04%.
It won a majority in 116 municipalities across the country, which compares unfavourably to the 158 it won in 2016.
"We wanted to win decisively with a majority so that we do not have hung municipalities,” Mbalula told the media at the announcement of the final results on Thursday evening.
“We fought very hard but we dropped and a big surprise is KwaZulu-Natal. It's a question of going back to the drawing board. It's a fair result and there were big issues on the table.”
A record 66 municipalities are hung, forcing parties into coalition negotiations over the next two weeks.
Mbalula said the ANC's national working committee will meet on Friday to discuss the party’s coalition options.
The metros where the ANC failed to obtain a majority include Tshwane, Johannesburg and eThekwini.
"It is a warning to us that if we don't change things for the better, our people will take us out," said Mbalula.
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