Evaton West (South Africa) (AFP) – Mounds of garbage, potholed roads and sewage spills: grim conditions like these led voters near Johannesburg to abandon their long-time loyalty to the ANC and hand the rival DA its first black township ward in South Africa.
Issued on: 25/06/2026 - 07:30
4 min Reading time
For the Democratic Alliance, the country's second-largest party, its recent by-election victory in Evaton West is a sign it may finally be shedding its white identity and winning more black support.The loss for the African National Congress -- South Africa's historic anti-apartheid movement -- in a former stronghold may be no predictor of the outcome of key municipal elections in November. But analysts say it highlights how frustration over municipal-level failures may prompt voters to break from traditional loyalties."We can't live like we are animals," Evaton West resident and first-time DA voter Lesedi Lesejane told AFP in the working-class area 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Johannesburg."They cry for our votes but we don't get service delivery," he said of the ANC.
The ANC took just under 32 percent, down from more than 50 percent in 2021 © PHILL MAGAKOE / AFP
