Former president Thabo Mbeki calls on Cyril Ramaphosa and senior ANC leaders to take responsibility for the party’s poor electoral performance.
The ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) is meeting on Thursday at the Birchwood Conference Centre in Boksburg to assess the party’s performance in the 2026 Local Government Elections, which saw its national electoral support fall to a historic low.
The meeting comes amid mounting pressure on the party’s leadership, following former president Thabo Mbeki’s calls for President Cyril Ramaphosa and other senior ANC leaders to take responsibility for the election outcome.
Speaking on the African Renaissance Podcast, hosted by former EFF MP Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, Mbeki said Ramaphosa would be taking the right position if reports that he had offered to resign were true.
“Normally, in a major democracy, when you have a disaster like that, the leader resigns and takes responsibility,” Mbeki said.
Mbeki questioned what positive developments could be attributed to Ramaphosa’s leadership since he became ANC president in 2017 and president of the country in 2018.
He also suggested that other members of the ANC’s senior leadership should consider stepping aside in response to the party’s declining electoral support.
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has acknowledged the scale of the party’s electoral setback, describing its performance as catastrophic.
“This has been a very catastrophic outcome for the ANC that we say plainly, and I know you will ask, when do you resign and all of that…” Mbalula said during a media briefing at the Results Operations Centre.
The ANC’s national support dropped from 45.59% in the 2021 Local Government Elections to 30.76% in the 2026 elections.
The party also lost its outright majorities in several major metropolitan municipalities, including Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni, leaving it facing coalition negotiations to secure governing arrangements.
However, ANC Youth League president Collen Malatji has challenged Mbeki’s criticism, arguing that former party leaders also contributed to the ANC’s decline.
“But our key statement is that the old guard, including President Thabo Mbeki, are part of the problem that we have in the ANC,” Malatji said.
Meanwhile, the ANC’s National Working Committee (NWC) met on Monday to assess the election outcome, with discussions also focusing on the party’s coalition strategy.
The NEC is expected to deliberate on the findings and determine the party’s way forward, including its approach to governing municipalities where no party secured an outright majority.
The meeting is expected to provide an opportunity for the party’s top leadership to consider its electoral performance, internal accountability and the challenges facing the ANC as it navigates the post-election political landscape.
