The ANC's National Executive Committee is meeting to decide who the party governs with after the local elections, its worst result since 1994. Marius Roodt tells Gabriel Makin what the two camps are arguing for, and why the easy option could cost the ANC its way back.

Go with the DA and the two parties could govern 158 of South Africa's 213 municipalities, home to just under 80% of the population, but the DA, as the bigger partner, would take the mayor's chair in Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Nelson Mandela Bay. Go with the MKP, the EFF and ActionSA and the ANC keeps more mayoralties, Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni among them, while ActionSA would take Tshwane.

Marius argues the short-term win is a long-term trap. ANC support in local elections has fallen from 66% in 2006 to 31% this year, and in national elections from almost 70% in 2004 to 40% in 2024, tracking the economy all the way down. He and Gabriel also ask what the choice means for a reform candidate such as Patrice Motsepe.