ANC, Jacob Zuma face test

South African polls closed on Wednesday and the tally began for local elections where the ruling African National Congress (ANC) could lose control of key cities for the first time since apartheid ended. Analysts say the ANC is facing the toughest electoral challenge in its history against the backdrop of high unemployment, an economy not […]

South African polls closed on Wednesday and the tally began for local elections where the ruling African National Congress (ANC) could lose control of key cities for the first time since apartheid ended.
Analysts say the ANC is facing the toughest electoral challenge in its history against the backdrop of high unemployment, an economy not expected to grow this year, and a series of scandals that have dogged President Jacob Zuma.
A significant loss of support would be a blow for a movement that embodied South Africa’s liberation struggle. Its next major test comes in national elections in 2019.
Opinion polls see a particularly close race in the capital Pretoria, economic-hub Johannesburg and the symbolic Nelson Mandela Bay municipality named after the anti-apartheid icon.
The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) was expected to maintain Cape Town, the only big city not run by the ANC.