New Delhi, Nov. 14 -- The ANC remains the biggest party, but its share of the national vote fell to just over 30%, forcing it to seek coalitions with other parties to govern cities like Johannesburg and Tshwane, which includes the capital, Pretoria. It was the party's worst performance in local elections.

The party's top leadership, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, began a meeting Thursday to determine its approach to the talks and potential coalition partners. The outcome of the meeting will be announced Saturday.

The coalition talks have brought together some of the country's biggest political rivals to discuss forming local governments.

According to the official results, no party won an outright majority in about 65% of the muni...