Calls are growing for South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, to quit as leader of his party, and a former president has said the party’s top seven officials should weigh their own positions. The African National Congress (ANC), which leads the national government, won 30.76% in the 4 November local elections, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), the independent election body, said on 8 November.
Party leaders deny any plan to step down. For US readers, South Africa is a major trade and investment partner in Africa, so steady leadership in its governing party matters.
Calls to Quit Follow a Weak Election Result
On Sunday 8 November, the IEC declared the vote free and fair. It said the ANC won 30.76% nationally and 3,246 council seats, against 24.64% and 1,695 seats for the Democratic Alliance (DA), its partner in national government.
The IEC said on 8 November that the ANC won outright control in 53 municipalities and that 127 of 213 councils have no majority party. In the 2021 local elections the ANC’s national share was 45.59%, a fall of about 14.8 points.
The Report That Set Off the Debate
A Sunday newspaper report said at least five senior members of the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC), the party’s top body between conferences, claimed Ramaphosa had raised stepping down as ANC leader. It said he could go alone if the top seven officials would not leave together.
The report relied on unnamed sources, and the ANC has not confirmed it. ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said she was not aware of any such discussion among the party’s national officials.
Ramaphosa told journalists on Sunday 8 November that he did not know where the rumours came from and called them “preposterous”. Fikile Mbalula, the party’s secretary-general, said the president “is not going anywhere” and that there is “no such consideration” in the party of him stepping down.
On the council results, Ramaphosa said on 8 November that those elected “must find common ground and work together”. He added that “the stability of our municipalities cannot be sacrificed to narrow political interests.”
File photo: the Old Reserve Bank and Mutual buildings on Church Square in central Pretoria, pictured in 2014. Photo: Fritz Joubert / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)Mbeki Puts the Question to the Top Seven
Former president Thabo Mbeki, who led the ANC from 1997 to 2007 and South Africa from 1999 to 2008, said in a podcast interview this week that leaders in democracies normally resign after a disaster like this. Asked about the report that Ramaphosa had offered to resign, he said he thought that was the correct position.
On the top seven, Mbeki suggested they should consider whether they are still the right people to lead the party. He did not say that they must go.
Collen Malatji, president of the ANC Youth League, the party’s youth wing, asked this week why Mbeki did not resign. He said the former president should take his concerns to the National Executive Committee.
What to Watch
Coalition talks are still open, and we could not confirm a date on which the ANC will set out its approach. Our earlier report on the result and coalition talks sets out the background.
Councils must still be constituted and mayors chosen after the 8 November declaration, but the election authority has not published a deadline we could confirm. Coalition deals will decide who runs Johannesburg.
What Is Not Known
The report that Ramaphosa raised stepping down is not confirmed. The ANC’s secretary-general says no such step is under consideration, and its spokesperson says she is unaware of it.
It is also unclear whether the NEC will take up the question. One NEC member claimed that a Ramaphosa resignation could end the Government of National Unity, but that is unconfirmed.
What It Means for Readers Abroad
The Government of National Unity (GNU) is the multi-party national government formed after the 2024 election, in which the ANC governs with the DA. A change at the top of the ANC would matter because its decisions shape policy that investors and trade partners rely on, as our explainer on who holds power shows.
For US companies and investors with South African exposure, the thing to watch is whether the ANC and the DA keep working together nationally and in city halls. This is context, not investment advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cyril Ramaphosa resigning?
No resignation has been announced. A Sunday newspaper report said he raised the idea, but Ramaphosa called the rumours “preposterous” on 8 November, and the ANC’s secretary-general says no such step is under consideration.
Who are the ANC’s top seven?
The top seven are the ANC’s seven most senior officials. They are Ramaphosa; Paul Mashatile, deputy president; Gwede Mantashe, chairperson; Fikile Mbalula, secretary-general; Nomvula Mokonyane, deputy secretary-general; Maropene Ramokgopa, second deputy secretary-general; and Gwen Ramokgopa, treasurer-general.
What did Thabo Mbeki say?
Mbeki said in a podcast interview this week that leaders normally resign after a disaster like this. On the top seven, he suggested they should consider whether they are still the right people to lead, without saying they must go.
How did the ANC do in the 2026 local elections?
The ANC won 30.76% nationally and 3,246 council seats, the Electoral Commission said on 8 November. The Democratic Alliance took 24.64%.
Sources: Electoral Commission of South Africa, declaration of the 2026 local election results, 8 November 2026 (https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/iec-declares-lge-2026-free-and-fair); remarks by President Cyril Ramaphosa, 8 November 2026 (https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/president-urges-parties-put-service-delivery-ahead-political-interests); statements by ANC officials; statements by former president Thabo Mbeki.
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