South Africans are casting ballots in local elections viewed as an important test for the African National Congress (ANC), the movement that helped end white minority rule in 1994 but has seen its backing weaken over the last 10 years.

Polling stations opened at 7am (05:00 GMT) on Wednesday and will close at 9pm (19:00 GMT). The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) says a record 29.2 million people are registered at 23,696 voting stations. More than 1.4 million special ballots were submitted on Monday and Tuesday.

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Voters are choosing representatives for eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district councils and 205 local councils. The elected councils will subsequently appoint mayors.

The ANC dropped below 50 percent of the vote in local elections for the first time in 2021. It then lost its national parliamentary majority in the 2024 election, prompting it to form a coalition with the Democratic Alliance (DA) and other parties. Surveys indicate its support could fall below 40 percent in this vote.

“Failures at municipal level have helped erode public trust and confidence in democratic government,” President Cyril Ramaphosa wrote in his weekly newsletter, “From the Desk of the President”.

The presidency said Ramaphosa is expected to vote at Hyde Park High School in Johannesburg.

Johannesburg is regarded as the most sought-after contest in the election. South Africa’s commercial hub has had five different mayors over the past four years.

The DA has nominated its 75-year-old former leader, Helen Zille, for Johannesburg’s highest office. Among her campaign actions was a stunt in which she wore snorkelling gear in a muddy trench flooded after a municipal water pipe burst.

A News24 survey placed Zille on 36 percent, suggesting she would require coalition partners, especially the ANC, to govern. Zille told the Associated Press that the ANC was “in free fall”.

“The ANC has been steadily losing support, and polling suggests that decline may continue,” said Haru Mutasa, reporting from Johannesburg. She said South Africa’s political environment is “definitely changing”.

Wednesday marks the first municipal election for former President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, which is posing a serious challenge in the coastal city of Durban.

“We are going to begin by taking back our country here,” Zuma told supporters in Durban on Sunday, according to AFP. The city has become a focal point for anti-migrant rhetoric, which has featured strongly in the campaign.

Voter participation could be a major issue. Just 46 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the 2021 municipal elections.

Coalition arrangements are already common across the country. As of February, 74 of South Africa’s 257 municipalities were governed by coalitions or minority administrations, according to the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection.

Security measures have also been increased. Police reported 21 election-related cases since Sunday. KwaZulu-Natal has 165 voting stations labelled high risk, more than any other province.

Mutasa said it appeared unlikely that any party would secure an outright majority. She said the result would probably lead to more coalition negotiations, with the ANC likely working alongside smaller political parties.

Final results are expected on Sunday. The outcome could influence the contest to replace Ramaphosa as ANC leader at the party’s December 2027 conference.