Cape Town -THE ANC’s woes could worsen today in Tshwane if the voting pattern that led to electoral losses in Ekurhuleni and Joburg last night continues on Tuesday.
This was one of the heaviest defeats of the ANC over the last 27 years of democracy.
The ANC has so far managed to hang on to Buffalo City and Mangaung where it got an outright majority and scraped through in Nelson Mandela Bay where it narrowly defeated the DA.
Mxolisi Siyonzana was re-elected mayor of Mangaung while Eugene Johnson became mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay after small parties backed the ANC after their deal with the DA collapsed in the early hours of yesterday.
Xola Pakati also retained his position as mayor in Buffalo City in the Eastern Cape.
Tshwane and eThekwini are the only two metros left for the ANC.
But the ANC’s defeat yesterday, extended to some of the municipalities it previously controlled in Lekwa in Mpumalanga where a local civic movement ousted the ANC.
The battle for Tshwane will see Randall Williams contesting for the top job with Frans Boshielo of the ANC.
The EFF had yesterday, pulled the rug over the DA after it backed it despite no formal coalition deal existing between the two parties.
The DA had also refused to back Herman Mashaba in Joburg but ActionSA and other parties decided to support Mpho Phalatse to be mayor for the city.
“Yes, we could have easily stuck with my nomination as mayor to prove a point and allow the DA to give municipality to the ANC, but does that help residents? Producing stable and effective governments now lies with the DA and its ability to act in the interests of South Africans,” said Mashaba.
The EFF also won Metsimaholo municipality in the Free State after cutting a deal with the ANC. The municipality was previously governed by the SACP.
POLITICAL BUREAU