Among the metropolitan municipalities where the African National Congress' (ANC) electoral hegemony was reduced or completely lost, the City of Tshwane probably evokes more curiosity. Is the pre-poll mayhem that engulfed the City, following the ANC's announcement of Thoko Didiza as the mayoral candidate, behind its loss of the grip of power in Tshwane? If so, why did it also lose the City of Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay, and only hold onto Ekurhuleni through a coalition arrangement as it failed to get the outright majority to constitute the council, while its electoral hegemony was reduced in Mangaung, eThekwini and Buffalo City? All these frame the article's narrative to answer the question: what is behind the ANC's loss of the City of Tshwane? It starts with contextual issues such as the City's history, its geodemographic make-up and socio-economic profile. This is followed by the analysis of electoral tr