A resident approaches a heap of rubbish in front of an African National Congress (ANC) municipal election posters in Alexandra, near Johannesburg, on October 5, 2026. Of the 257 municipal councils up for grabs, the fight for municipal control is particularly intense in Johannesburg, an economic dynamo of more than four million people, and the face of Africa's most industrialised nation. South Africa's stark inequalities are laid bare in the Alexandra township area from where the skyscrapers of the Sandton business district -- reputed to be the richest square mile on the continent -- are visible. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP via Getty Images)