Ramaphosa’s Government of National Unity is in trouble
South Africa’s biggest political party will consider whether to end its national coalition with its main rival after suffering its worst electoral performance yet—an argument that’s emerging as a fault line in the race to succeed President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Some members of the African National Congress’ (ANC) national executive committee are discussing how to make the case at a meeting on Thursday.
They will argue that the party’s tie-up with the Democratic Alliance in 2024 cost it votes in last week’s municipal elections, and that it should end, according to people familiar with the matter.
A previous push within the ANC to jettison the DA failed, and it’s unclear how much support the proposal would have this time around, they said.
But a reconfiguration of the so-called government of national unity, which has sought to prioritise growing the economy and creating jobs, could rattle investors, with the DA seen as a driver behind attempts to push through more business-friendly policies.
The ANC won just shy of 31% support in the 4 November vote and failed to win outright control of any of the eight biggest cities, while the DA increased its backing to almost 25%, retained its majority in Cape Town and got the most votes in several other metropolises.
Aggrieved ANC members plan to stake out who the party should partner with ahead of its December 2027 elective conference, when Ramaphosa is due to step down as its leader, the people said.
Deputy President Paul Mashatile and ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula are among those in contention to succeed him, while some party officials are promoting billionaire businessman Patrice Motsepe as a potential candidate.
Ramaphosa raised the possibility of stepping down as ANC leader in a discussion with the party’s top officials after the election, the Sunday Times reported.
Other officials pushed back, and one proposed bringing the elective conference forward to April, the Johannesburg-based newspaper said.
The president told reporters there was no truth to rumours that he would vacate his post early.
Some officials want ActionSA to take the DA’s place in the country’s 10-member GNU, the people said.
Led by former Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba, ActionSA has six lawmakers and would give a reconfigured coalition 206 seats in the 400-member National Assembly if all the other partners stayed.
It’s unclear whether ActionSA would agree to a national deal.
The municipal vote was the ANC’s third major electoral setback under Ramaphosa. It won about 40% support nationally in 2024, losing its parliamentary majority for the first time since it took power after apartheid ended three decades earlier.
Relations between the ANC and the DA have been fractious since they teamed up, with the two parties clashing over the 2025 budget and several pieces of legislation.
Mbalula last month called for a review of the DA’s role in the coalition after it opposed the ANC’s court bid to reinstate its candidates who had been excluded from standing in the municipal elections on procedural grounds.
ANC officials critical of the partnership argue that the improvement in market confidence has yet to translate into stronger investment.
Fixed investment fell to 13.9% of gross domestic product in 2025, according to the central bank.
The NEC meeting will give direction on how the ANC will approach coalition talks in councils that no party won outright, including Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane in the central Gauteng province.
The ANC could partner with the DA, seek deals with other parties or go into opposition, the people said.
ActionSA representatives met Mbalula and other ANC officials on Sunday to discuss its conditions for entering into coalitions.
Several parties are exploring deals that would sideline the DA and complicate a bid by its former leader Helen Zille to become Johannesburg mayor.
The DA’s federal executive council said it had resolved to engage all political parties in discussions about forming coalitions in hung municipalities, with the objective of establishing stable, effective governments that put citizens first.
Mbalula told reporters the ANC will announce its position on coalitions on 13 November, and won’t comment until then.
The new metro councils must convene within 14 days of being declared elected.
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