O ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa has dismissed reports suggesting that he could resign following the party’s poor performance in the 2026 Local Government Elections.
Ramaphosa questioned the origin of the rumours while speaking on the sidelines of the Electoral Commission of South Africa’s (IEC) announcement of the final election results on Sunday evening.
“I do not know where these rumours are coming from; I mean, whoever came up with a rumour like that is preposterous,” he said.
The rumours followed reports that Ramaphosa had raised the possibility of stepping down as ANC president during discussions among senior party leaders after the election results.
The ANC suffered a significant electoral setback, securing 30.76% of the national vote. The party also lost its outright majority in all eight metropolitan municipalities.
Despite the outcome, Ramaphosa said the ANC accepted the voters’ decision.
“Concerning it might be, we accept that this is how the people of South Africa in our towns, our cities, in our metros have spoken. And this is their verdict. And we accept it with humility,” he said.
