ANC Rejects Calls for Ramaphosa to Step Down
ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bengu says there is no pressure from leadership for the president to leave office after the party's weak 2026 municipal election showing.
Updated on Nov. 12, 2026 in Elections
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The African National Congress (ANC) received 30.76% of the national vote in the 2026 municipal elections, down from 45.59% in 2021. ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bengu said at a press briefing in Boksburg on Thursday that there is no pressure from party leadership for President Cyril Ramaphosa to resign, and that reports he was asked to do so are false.
Why it matters
Calls for Ramaphosa to step down followed the ANC's poor performance at the polls, raising questions about the party's direction ahead of its governing body meeting. The ANC has said it will conduct an in-depth analysis of the election results.
The ANC's national vote share fell by about 15 percentage points between the 2021 and 2026 municipal elections, while the Democratic Alliance took 24.64%, uMkhonto weSizwe 9.76%, the Economic Freedom Fighters 6.22% and ActionSA 5.67%. It is not yet known what the ANC's internal review will find or recommend.
The players
Cyril Ramaphosa
Cyril Ramaphosa is the President of South Africa and leader of the African National Congress, who has faced calls to step down after the party's poor 2026 municipal election result.
African National Congress (ANC)
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing party, which has ruled since the end of apartheid in 1994 and saw its national vote share fall sharply in the 2026 municipal elections.
Mahlengi Bengu
Mahlengi Bengu is the national spokesperson of the African National Congress who briefed the media on the party's position regarding the president.
The details
Bengu made the comments at a press briefing at the Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre in Boksburg, ahead of an ANC governing body meeting. She said the party will conduct an in-depth analysis of the election results.
Timeline
2021: ANC receives 45.59% of the national vote in municipal elections.
2026: Municipal elections; ANC receives 30.76% of the national vote.
12 November 2026: Bengu holds press briefing in Boksburg denying pressure on Ramaphosa to resign.
Political Context
The ANC's slide from 45.59% in 2021 to 30.76% in 2026 is the party's sharpest electoral reversal in recent municipal contests. Opposition gains by the Democratic Alliance, uMkhonto weSizwe and the Economic Freedom Fighters have shifted the balance of national support away from the governing party.
Voters in South Africa are seeing a shift in national support, with the governing party now holding under a third of the national vote. Any change in the presidency would follow from internal ANC decisions rather than from the election result itself.
The takeaway
The 2026 result shows the ANC losing ground to several opposition parties, and the party's review of that result will shape its next steps. Readers can track the outcome of the governing body meeting for any formal leadership decisions.
What happens next
The ANC's governing body meeting will consider the party's in-depth analysis of the 2026 election results.
Further reading
For more on how the country's voting has shifted, see Elections coverage on South Africa.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Isolezwe lesiXhosa.
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