This article argues that despite the continued incumbency of the African National Congress, South Africa's 2016 municipal elections presented a marked departure from previous elections. Several factors come together to culminate in significant shifts in party support. A turnout differential between partisan groups that favoured the opposition, plus voter shifts away from the ANC to the opposition, resulted in a much reduced dominant party that experienced significant losses across urban metro poles. These changes were a result of attitudinal and behavioural changes among South African voters in 2016, namely increasingly unfavourable voter evaluations of the ANC's performance in government, shifting evaluations of opposition parties, an injection of younger voters, and increased political competition and campaign exposure for urban-based voters.