National results of the May 18 2011 local government election:
In the local government elections all voters cast two ballots: A Proportional Representation (PR) ballot, for a party, then a Ward ballot for the ward candidate in their area. Outside of the metros the voters cast a third ballot - for their local district council.
On the Ward ballot the African National Congress secured 8,143,397 votes (60.98 %) and on the PR ballot (62,93%) - an average of 61,95% for both (See Table 1). In the District Council elections the party received 5,455,411 votes (or 69,43%) of the total. Overall the ANC had 22,004,237 ballots cast in its favour (63.65%).
The Democratic Alliance received 3,177,883 (23,80%)on the Ward ballot and 3,216,006 (24,08%) on the PR ballot - an average of 23,94% for both. Because its support is concentrated in the metros it did less well in the District Councils, receiving 1,202,562 votes (15,3 %) on this ballot. Overall, the DA secured 1,202,562 votes on all three ballots (21,97%).
For analytical purposes the PR ballot is the best measure of a party's popular support. The Ward count is affected by the influence of the popularity of individual candidates and independents - a factor which does not apply in national or provincial elections. District Council votes are distorting because they give an additional 50% weighting to voters in rural areas.
If one compares the PR results between the 2006 and 2011 local government elections (see Table 2) the following emerges: