The leader of South Africa's African National Congress (ANC), President Cyril Ramaphosa, is not under pressure to resign, the party's spokesperson said on Thursday, after its share of the vote fell sharply in last week's municipal elections. “The president is going nowhere,” ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu told reporters. “There is no pressure on the part of this leadership collective for the president to leave,” she added.

The ANC's share of the vote fell to about 31%, down from 46% at the last municipal vote in 2021, a new low for the once-dominant party. In many major cities, including Johannesburg, no party secured a majority, so coalitions will be needed to run local government. The result has intensified debate inside the ANC about accountability for its declining support.

Resignation reports dismissed

Bhengu dismissed as a “fabrication” a report by local news website TimesLive that Ramaphosa had considered stepping down. Ramaphosa himself had already rejected the reports on Sunday, calling the rumours “preposterous”. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula also rejected them on Monday. Former president Thabo Mbeki, however, said in a podcast interview that it would be right for Ramaphosa and other ANC leaders to resign.

What happens next

The National Executive Committee meeting on Thursday is expected to settle the ANC's approach to coalition talks in hung councils across the country. The ANC is due to elect its next leader in December 2027, when Ramaphosa will make way after two five-year terms at the helm of the party. For now, the leadership insists he will serve out that term, despite its worst municipal result since the end of apartheid.