ActionSA Cracks ANC’s Armour in North West With Shock By-Election Win

A Ward Lost, A Warning Sent: ActionSA Ends ANC Dominance in Ramotshere Moiloa

The political ground in the North West has shiftedif only by a fraction of a percentage point. ActionSA has edged out the ANC in a fiercely contested by-election in Ramotshere Moiloa’s Ward 7, snatching victory with 33.49% of the vote against the ANC’s 33.4%. It’s a margin so thin you could slip a ballot paper through it, but symbolically, it’s enormous.

Just months ago, this ward was an ANC fortress. In the 2024 provincial election, the governing party took it with nearly 58%. Now, Herman Mashaba’s party has cracked open the door the ANC has guarded for decades.

From Outsider to Contender

ActionSA’s candidate, Moses Moumakwa, will now represent a ward once considered untouchable. The win also gives the party an official opposition bloc in the municipality through its partnership with Forum 4 Service Delivery (F4SD), which merged with ActionSA earlier this year.

National chairperson Michael Beaumont is already framing the result as proof that their strategy, absorbing smaller parties and consolidating opposition voices is working.

“It’s not just a win. It’s a signal,” Beaumont said in the aftermath.

They didn’t just beat the ANC. They outpaced the EFF, Patriotic Alliance, and uMkhonto weSizwe Party too, all of whom hovered between 2% and 15.4%.

ANC Brushes Off Blow, But the Cracks Are Visible

The ANC, clearly stung by the loss, tried to focus attention on areas where it held ground: Musina, Dr AB Xuma and Langeberg. Spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri thanked voters “for their commitment to democracy” even in areas where the results were not in their favour, like Soweto, Swellendam and Ramotshere Moiloa.

She insisted the party’s Local Government Action Plan is restoring confidence, discipline and credibility among councillors.

“The ANC is regaining stability and trust,” she said, in a tone that sounded more aspirational than triumphant.

But the simultaneous need to reassure supporters and explain losses shows the party knows these by-elections are more than a numbers gamethey’re an early forecast for 2026.

“Not Shocking at All,” Says Political Analyst

Political analyst Dominic Maphaka from North-West University says no one should be surprised.

“North West is one of the ANC’s dominated, ruled and neglected provinces,” he said. “The infrastructure is deteriorating. Towns like Mafikeng are shadows of their former selves. There are deep-seated challenges, such as unemployment and poverty. In this socioeconomic climate, voters have no choice but to give other parties a chance.”

His analysis echoes what many residents have been saying for years: promises don’t fix potholes or create jobs.

A Voter Mood Shift, Not Just a Lucky Win

ActionSA’s growth isn’t limited to rural wards. In Sowetowhere the ANC has historically coastedthe party posted notable gains in this same election cycle. For Mashaba’s party, it’s confirmation that the discontent driving voters toward new political homes is no longer a Gauteng-only phenomenon.

On social media, supporters called the result “a political tremor” and “the beginning of the ANC’s realignment.” Others say the win is less about ActionSA’s magnetism and more about the ANC’s erosion.

What This Means for 2026

The victory is more psychological than statistical. But that matters. It tells opposition parties that the once-unchallenged ANC can be beaten on home turf. And it tells Luthuli House that loyalty is no longer guaranteedespecially where services are failing and unemployment bites hardest.

ActionSA now has something powerful going into 2026: proof. Proof that voters in ANC territories are willing to try something different. Proof that coalitions with smaller parties can work. And proof that political shift doesn’t always arrive with a landslideit sometimes starts with a decimal point.

If Ward 7 is a test case, then the 2026 local government election may be the real contest, not a coronation.

{Source: The Citizen}

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