The ANC has been squeezed and for the first time since 1994 its support has dipped below 60% nationally. Preliminary results show it has lost control of the Nelson Mandela Bay metro in Eastern Cape.Opposition parties have started talks on how to push it out of power in more than a dozen municipalities, especially in urban areas.There were no clear winners in Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg, where a ferocious battle played out between the ANC and DA. Before 11pm, the DA was leading in Tshwane with 45%, while the ANC stood at just above 40%.FOLLOW OUR LIVE BLOG FOR THE LATEST NEWS AND RESULTSThe two parties were neck and neck in Johannesburg at 41% apiece, while the ANC was in pole position in Ekurhuleni with 47% compared with the DA's 36%.ANC NEC member Jackson Mthembu was still confident that the party would secure more than 50% in the three Gauteng metros.As it became clear that it had lost Nelson Mandela Bay, the ANC filed an objection to the results after piles of marked ballots were found abandoned. But secretary general Gwede Mantashe said the ANC would withdraw the objection as ''it is not worth it''.DA leader Mmusi Maimane said that his party, which won most of the votes in Nelson Mandela Bay but failed to secure 50%, was talking to smaller parties about forming a coalition. UDM leader Bantu Holomisa said Maimane had approached him, but that he had told him to wait for the final results.Maimane earlier ruled out working with the ANC. "We will exclude the ANC entirely," he said.The Economic Freedom Fighters, expected to play a kingmaker role if there is no outright winner in the major metros, has also rejected working with the ANC."We will never work with the ANC in a coalition," said EFF national chairman Dali Mpofu.The EFF has polled significant numbers in the bigger towns.Follow all the #LGE2016 news and results LIVE in one place on your phone https://t.co/QimvYr2pW1#ElectionDaypic.twitter.com/JJRHt9pdiL— Times LIVE (@TimesLIVE) August 3, 2016ssBut ANC national executive committee member and spokesman Zizi Kodwa said his party would wait until the official announcement of all the results before deciding on its next move. "Coalitions are a function of results so you can't talk about them unless you have already accepted defeat. Our campaign was aimed at an overwhelming, decisive victory."Political analyst Somadoda Fikeni said the EFF was in a difficult position. Its leader, Julius Malema, has denounced the DA as a "white party" and has accused the ANC of being corrupt."Both beds are laid with thorns, even though on top it might look like roses," said Fikeni."The EFF ought to be working on its sustainability and position itself for the next elections and beyond. Should they be seen to have compromised their revolutionary stance, which has attracted so many young, disaffected people, by being found in bed with the DA, then their brand might be swallowed."The ANC was roundly trounced by the DA in Cape Town. It was also on the brink of losing control of Rustenburg as it had secured just 44.4% of the vote before 11pm.But the party was set to comfortably retain eThekwini, Mangaung and Buffalo City.Fikeni said, given the election outcomes in the urban centres, it was clear that the ANC was being punished by the middle class, as opposed to rural voters. "Your middle class and workers in the factories are not so dependent on the state. It also speaks to the fact that the ANC has not taken time to look at itself and its internal divisions."The decline of Cosatu has also been blamed for its poor showing.The comeback kid of the election is the IFP, which regained power in several municipalities in rural KwaZulu-Natal at the expense of the ANC and the NFP. Its sweetest victory was in President Jacob Zuma's home municipality of Nkandla, where it won an outright majority.IFP spokesman Liezel van der Merwe said there were several hung municipalities in which it was considering coalitions, but would prefer not to work with the ANC. How did your ward/city vote? Click here for the #ElectionResults:http://bit.ly/2apwZKU DA federal chairman James Selfe said coalition talks would resume today at midday. He said finalised election results would determine where there would be coalitions, starting in the bigger metros."You first find out where the results allow you to form coalitions," he said, adding that the party would begin with one-on-one meetings and then extend them to multiparty discussions.Selfe said broad national agreements would be drafted and ratified before specific agreements for each municipality were discussed.The Freedom Front Plus said it was ready for coalition talks with the DA - but with conditions.The party's leader, Pieter Mulder, said the FF+ was annoyed at the way in which the DA had treated the FF+ as a coalition partner in the past. "The DA has not treated us as a partner even though we helped them," he said.He said his party would not negotiate with the ANC, while working with the EFF would be "difficult"...