- Gwede Mantashe has urged African National Congress members to accept the 2026 local election results and avoid damaging the Electoral Commission's credibility.
- The African National Congress plans to use lessons from the national unity government to form working coalitions if it loses control of municipalities.
African National Congress chairperson Gwede Mantashe has warned his party not to attack the Electoral Commission of South Africa if election results do not go its way.
Mantashe wants party members to accept the outcome of the 2026 local government elections, even if the party loses control of more municipalities.
He said questioning the commission's credibility could cause damage that lasts long after the elections.
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"Don't discredit the IEC. Because if you do that, it has long-term effects on the credibility of the IEC. Some parties are like that, we don't like that. We want the ANC to be credible, and everyone must believe in it."
His warning comes as the party faces a tough fight to keep control of municipalities, particularly in Gauteng.
Recent polls suggest the ANC could fail to win outright majorities in several councils.
This would force the party to work with other political parties to form local governments.
Mantashe said the ANC must aim to win as many municipalities as possible while preparing to make coalition deals where needed.
He believes the party can use what it has learnt from working with other parties in the Government of National Unity.
But he admitted that working together has not always been easy.
"With the GNU, we attempt to make it work. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't work. So, we have some experience now. We've learned a lot of important lessons in the process. We'll use that in the local government."
Mantashe, who is serving his final term as ANC chairperson, is expected to play an important role in deciding which parties the ANC works with after the elections.
The party could face difficult talks in Gauteng, where several major municipalities are expected to be closely contested.
Election analyst Wayne Sussman said voting patterns in Gauteng on Wednesday afternoon suggested that more people were turning out in suburban areas.
He said this could help the Democratic Alliance and ActionSA.
"It's hard to determine who's really winning right, but I do think there is a suburban differential turnout advantage, which I think would favour parties like the DA and ActionSA."
The final results will determine whether the ANC can govern municipalities on its own or must negotiate with opposition parties.
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Mantashe said the party must focus on building coalitions that work rather than fighting over election outcomes.
