The African National Congress (ANC) Youth League (ANCYL) has called for a generational leadership reset in the ANC following the party’s defeat in the 2026 local government elections, arguing that the same leaders who presided over its decline cannot be trusted to rebuild it.

In a statement issued yesterday, the ANCYL said the municipal election result reflected growing dissatisfaction with the party’s performance in government.

The league attributed the decline in support to the ANC’s growing distance from communities and the failure of some municipalities and government officials to translate the party’s manifesto into improvements in people’s lives.

It identified persistent water shortages, poor municipal administration, unemployment, inequality, deteriorating infrastructure, crime, and drug abuse as some of the problems that are frustrating communities.

“We owe our communities an apology. We are sorry for the disappointment caused by those entrusted with the responsibility of implementing the ANC’s programme of action, but who failed to do so,” the statement said.

The ANCYL called for officials who had failed to serve communities to be removed from positions of responsibility, saying the ANC could not continue to recycle underperforming deployees. It also called for disciplinary action, including expulsion, to be taken against members who interfered with community-preferred candidates during the party’s candidate selection processes.

However, the youth league ruled out coalition arrangements with the Democratic Alliance (DA), describing the party as a no-go area for the ANC.

It argued that the DA’s positions on black economic empowerment, affirmative action, and economic redress were fundamentally different from the ANC’s historical mission and the objectives of the National Democratic Revolution.

The ANCYL also demanded meaningful representation in coalition negotiations, saying decisions about local government and the political direction of the movement should not be taken without the participation of young people.

The statement placed particular emphasis on changing the ANC’s leadership, arguing that the older generation should make way for younger leaders with fresh political thinking.

“We do not agree that the responsibility for resetting and rebuilding the ANC should be entrusted to the same old guard whose leadership and political decisions contributed to the organisational decline that preceded the 2007 Polokwane [elective] conference,” it said.

The league argued that those who presided over the processes that weakened the organisation could not simply reposition themselves as the architects of its renewal without accounting for their role.

The league further raised concerns about the conduct of the Electoral Commission of South Africa, calling for explanations of discrepancies during the counting and recounting of votes. It said it intended to take these matters to the Electoral Court.

It also called for a review of the proportional representation system, arguing that its operation could undermine the electoral mandates parties receive through ward contests.

The statement concluded that the ANC needed a comprehensive reset of its leadership, membership, and government deployees.

“The time for excuses has passed. The time for accountability and renewal has arrived,” it said.