ANC celebrates by-election wins but faces growing opposition as voter shifts reshape local politics

By Johnathan Paoli

The ANC has declared its recent by-election victories as a renewed mandate from citizens, hailing the results as evidence of confidence in the governing party’s agenda of “renewal, discipline and service delivery”. 

The party’s national spokesperson, Mahlengi Bhengu, framed the outcomes as confirmation of public trust.

“These results are not ordinary but proof that the renewal project of the ANC is yielding fruit. The people are responding to the stability, unity and discipline that is returning to the organisation,” Bhengu said.

But a closer look at voting patterns across Limpopo, the Free State, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape – where this week’s by-elections took place – reveals a more complex picture: while the ANC retained several key wards, opposition parties have made significant gains that point to shifting political dynamics ahead of the 2026 local elections.

In Ward 5, Bela Bela in the Waterberg region of Limpopo,