South Africans judge government “by what changes in their daily lives”, President Cyril Ramaphosa said yesterday at the announcement of the 2026 local government election results at the Electoral Commission of South Africa Results Operations Centre in Midrand.

Ramaphosa said: “Across the world, political choices are shaped by people’s lived realities. As the great African leader Amílcar Cabral said: ‘[The people] are fighting to win material benefits, to live better and in peace, to see their lives go forward, and to guarantee the future of their children.’

“Our people do not judge government only by the promises that are made or the policies that are adopted,” Ramaphosa said: “South Africans want to live better and to see their lives go forward. They want jobs and opportunities. They want water to come out of the tap and electricity that works. They want their refuse collected, their parks maintained and their streets safe.

“In pursuit of this, they have made their political choices. Some have placed their faith in established parties. Others have placed their hopes in new formations and independent candidates,” he said.

“All who seek public office must be judged by one standard: whether they deliver on their promises. This is democracy doing what it is supposed to do. It gives citizens the power to choose. It gives them the power to demand more of their public representatives. The people have spoken,” Ramaphosa concluded.