ANC election boycott threats grow as South African residents protest poor electricity access, sewage problems and failing municipal services ahead of local polls
Residents of Katlehong and Alexandra, two communities in Gauteng province near Johannesburg, South Africa, are threatening to withhold their votes from the African National Congress (ANC) in the 4 November 2026 municipal elections, citing prolonged electricity access problems, overflowing sewage, illegal rubbish dumps and years of inadequate public services.
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The protests come as the ANC prepares for a critical electoral test, with voters increasingly judging the governing party and its municipal administrations on their ability to improve everyday living conditions.
In Katlehong, around 180 households have reportedly relied on illegal electricity connections for more than two decades, with thick cables running along footpaths as residents seek power from neighbouring areas.
For families who say repeated efforts to obtain formal connections have failed to deliver results, the dispute has become a question of dignity, opportunity and political accountability.
“We have made a collective decision: no electricity, no vote,” community leader Lesiba Rankapole, 59, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Rankapole acknowledged that the connections were illegal but argued that residents had little alternative while waiting for proper access to the electricity grid.
Without reliable power, he said, children faced additional barriers to studying and building better futures.
“Our children cannot progress without electricity,” he said.
The anger extends beyond electricity.
Another Katlehong resident, Enock Majola, 57, pointed to illegal dumping and deteriorating neighbourhood conditions as reasons for losing faith in the ANC, the party that has governed South Africa nationally for most of the post-apartheid era.
“I was born ANC, but today I do not want anyone to tell me about the ANC because I am suffering,” Majola said.
The remarks capture a difficult political reality for the ANC: historical loyalty and its central role in the struggle against apartheid do not necessarily protect the party from voter frustration when local services fall short.
Yet dissatisfaction does not always translate into support for an opposition party.
Meshack Twala, another Katlehong resident, was digging to reach a blocked pipe near a house surrounded by sewage when he questioned how residents could be expected to vote amid such conditions.
“How do we go and vote when our entire street has been experiencing persistent sewage problems?” he asked.
Despite his frustration, Twala acknowledged that he might still vote for the ANC if he went to the polling station, saying that switching allegiance would feel unfamiliar.
His position illustrates the complicated relationship between political identity, longstanding loyalty and dissatisfaction with service delivery.
The divide between continued loyalty and the desire for change will be important in the municipal elections, when voters choose the councillors and local administrations responsible for essential services, including waste collection, roads, sanitation and aspects of electricity distribution.
The ANC’s electoral decline has already altered South Africa’s political landscape.
The party secured approximately 46 per cent of the vote in the 2021 municipal elections, falling below 50 per cent nationally for the first time in a local government poll since the end of apartheid.
In the 2024 national election, the ANC received about 40 per cent of the vote and lost its parliamentary majority, forcing it to form a coalition-based government with other parties.
The upcoming municipal contest will test whether the party can regain public confidence at the local level or whether its declining support will continue.
The emergence of new political movements, including former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe Party, has added further competition, while established opposition parties are seeking to turn dissatisfaction with municipal governance into electoral gains.
Political analyst Sethulego Matebesi told AFP that low turnout in municipal elections could particularly disadvantage the ANC.
The elections, he said, would provide parties with an indication of their support ahead of the 2029 national poll.
Matebesi also predicted that no party would secure an outright majority in many councils, potentially resulting in extensive coalition negotiations and hung municipalities.
Such outcomes would make cooperation between parties increasingly important to the formation and stability of local governments.
Johannesburg, South Africa’s economic powerhouse, is expected to be among the most closely contested prizes.
The city, with a population of more than 4.8 million people according to the figures cited in the AFP report, is central to the country’s financial and commercial activity.
Its municipal performance also offers a visible measure of the challenges facing urban governance.
In Alexandra township, the contrast between visible economic wealth and inadequate neighbourhood infrastructure has become a source of public frustration.
The nearby Sandton business district, known for its corporate offices and high-value property, stands in stark contrast to streets where residents complain of rubbish accumulation, potholes and sewage flowing through residential areas.
Maintenance worker Patrick Saohatse, 45, said the ANC had governed for years without delivering the improvements residents expected.
He indicated that he intended to vote for the Democratic Alliance (DA), the country’s second-largest party in the national governing coalition.
The DA has made municipal service delivery and allegations of mismanagement central to its campaign, seeking to expand its support beyond its established strongholds.
The party already governs Cape Town, South Africa’s second-largest city by population, and is seeking to persuade voters elsewhere that a change in local leadership could improve municipal performance.
Helen Zille, the DA’s 75-year-old mayoral candidate in Johannesburg, has warned that continued corruption and deteriorating infrastructure could leave the city facing even greater difficulties.
Her campaign reflects the opposition’s broader attempt to frame the election as a choice between continued decline and administrative reform.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, 67, who is seeking another opportunity to become Johannesburg mayor, has also criticised irregular refuse collection and inadequate street lighting.
His remarks underline how the condition of local infrastructure has become a central issue across party lines.
The ANC has acknowledged the difficulties facing residents while maintaining that it remains the better choice for voters.
The party’s head of elections, Mdumiseni Ntuli, conceded that conditions in and around Johannesburg gave residents reasons to be dissatisfied, but urged voters to consider the ANC’s record and proposals.
The challenge for the governing party is to convince communities that its promises can translate into tangible improvements, particularly in neighbourhoods where residents say they have waited years for basic services.
The electricity dispute in Katlehong also highlights the difference between access to the national grid and the practical ability of every household to obtain a safe, legal and reliable connection.
South Africa has made substantial progress in expanding household electricity access since the end of apartheid, but uneven municipal infrastructure, maintenance problems and affordability continue to affect communities differently.
The country’s electricity challenges have also evolved.
While national power shortages and scheduled blackouts have been major concerns in recent years, local distribution networks, connection delays and municipal service failures remain important obstacles in some areas.
The experience of residents without formal connections therefore cannot be reduced to the national electricity supply alone.
Ahead of the election, political parties have made electricity, water, roads, municipal finances and employment prominent campaign issues.
The Electoral Commission has scheduled voting for Wednesday, 4 November 2026, giving parties a final opportunity to persuade residents that their policies and candidates can deliver better outcomes.
A threatened boycott could signal deep frustration, but it also presents a dilemma for communities seeking change.
Withholding votes may express dissatisfaction, yet it can reduce residents’ influence over the selection of councillors and the policies governing their neighbourhoods.
Whether the protest translates into abstention, support for opposition parties or renewed demands for accountability remains uncertain.
For the ANC, the election is more than a contest for municipal seats.
It is an opportunity to demonstrate that the party can respond to public grievances and rebuild trust after years of declining electoral support.
For residents in Katlehong and Alexandra, the immediate concern is more practical: access to electricity, functioning sanitation, cleaner streets and local authorities that respond to their needs.
The coming vote will reveal how far those grievances have reshaped political loyalties.
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In communities where residents say basic services have remained inadequate for years, the demand for change is becoming increasingly difficult for political leaders to ignore.
