South Africans have delivered their verdict in the 2026 local government elections. The ANC has suffered its worst electoral performance since 1994, the DA has made major gains in the country’s biggest cities, and coalition negotiations are already descending into political drama.
Nowhere is this more apparent than Johannesburg.
Helen Zille’s DA emerged as the city’s largest party, but without an outright majority. Herman Mashaba’s ActionSA holds the balance of power in several potential coalition arrangements, and the relationship between the two parties is already under severe strain.
Mashaba has offered to withdraw from the Johannesburg mayoral race, but only if Zille does the same. Meanwhile, negotiations over Tshwane and Ekurhuleni have become entangled in the struggle for Johannesburg, with competing demands over mayoral positions and coalition partners.
And with the ANC suffering historic losses, could coalition negotiations still see it retain influence over cities where voters have turned against it?
In this episode of the Rational Standard Podcast, host Nicholas Woode-Smith is joined by David Ansara and Sean McLaughlin to unpack the election results, the unfolding coalition drama, and the difficult choices facing South Africa’s political parties.
Can the DA and ActionSA put aside their differences? Will the ANC find a way back into power? And can South Africa’s fractured municipal councils produce stable governments?
Coalition or Noalition?
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The Election Is Over. The REAL Fight Begins.
Can the DA and ActionSA put aside their differences? Will the ANC find a way back into power? And can South Africa's fractured municipal councils produce stable governments?
