Latest: The Electoral Commission declared the final results on Sunday and said it was satisfied the 2026 local government elections were free and fair. The ANC took 30.76 percent of the national vote, down 14.83 points from 45.59 percent in 2021 and its lowest share of the democratic era, while remaining the largest party. The Democratic Alliance finished second with 24.64 percent, the MK Party third with 9.76 percent in its first local elections, then the EFF at 6.22 percent, ActionSA at 5.67 percent and the IFP at 4.69 percent. About 127 of 212 councils are hung, up from 70 after 2021, and the ANC holds outright majorities in 53 municipalities. The ANC won no outright majority in any metro: the DA took a majority in Cape Town and the most votes in Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela Bay and Tshwane, the MK Party led in eThekwini, and the ANC led in Buffalo City and Mangaung. Turnout was about 52.3 percent, up from 45.9 percent in 2021, with about 15.2 million ballots cast from a roll of about 29.2 million. ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula called the result catastrophic for the party. One result remained outstanding, a Ward 3 voting station in Siyancuma in the Northern Cape where ballot papers were destroyed before counting; the commission said it had gone to the Electoral Court and opened a criminal case. Councils must hold their inaugural meetings within 14 days of the declaration.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa has worked through the formal objections to Wednesday’s local election results and ordered recounts in five wards, its chairperson Mosotho Moepya said at a media briefing on Saturday. Of 197 objections lodged under section 65 of the Municipal Electoral Act by the Friday 5 p.m. deadline, 54 were dismissed, eight withdrawn and two upheld, and the two upheld objections produced the recount orders and an additional editing window for corrections.
The recounts are in wards 57 and 102 in the City of Tshwane in Gauteng, ward 19 in Mangaung in the Free State, ward 4 in Thaba Chweu in Mpumalanga and ward 12 in Breede Valley in the Western Cape. The 197 objections are separate from the more than 800 complaints the commission received earlier in the week through its political liaison committees, most of them alleging that party agents were prevented from observing voting and counting; complaints through that channel do not automatically become formal objections, and the commission in KwaZulu Natal has said complaints will not delay the final results.
Results processing was complete in six provinces by Saturday, with Emfuleni, Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, Rustenburg, Msunduzi and eThekwini still being finalised and expected to be completed on Saturday evening. On the near final count reported over the weekend, the ANC stands at about 30.8 percent of the vote and 3,235 council seats, the Democratic Alliance at 24.6 percent, the MK Party at 9.8 percent and the EFF at 6.2 percent, with 135 councils hung, meaning no party holds more than half their seats.
The final declaration is scheduled for 6 p.m. South African time on Sunday. Until then the results remain subject to the objection and correction process, and any change to vote totals in the recount wards can move council seat allocations. The MK Party’s separate objection over eThekwini, covered by this site on Saturday, asked the commission to freeze capturing there and delay the declaration; the commission’s timetable, restated on Saturday, has not moved.