By Oluwalemi Kindness
South Africans are voting in local elections amid growing pressure on the ruling African National Congress (ANC) over declining public support.
Campaigns have featured unusual stunts, with politicians spinning cars, visiting grandmothers and wading through potholes to attract voters.
The elections will determine leadership across nearly 300 municipalities responsible for essential services, including water, electricity and waste collection.
For the ANC, the polls are an opportunity to rebuild public confidence after losing its parliamentary majority for the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994.
The party’s support has fallen from 70 per cent in the 2004 general election to 40 per cent in 2024, amid public anger over corruption, unemployment and crime.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has rejected suggestions that the party is in decline, despite expectations of further electoral losses.
