South Africa’s November 4 local government elections are not yet officially decided, but the provisional count points to a changed map. The Electoral Commission (IEC) has said official results will be announced on Sunday, and its legal deadline is November 11. With about 96 percent of the proportional vote counted, one tracker had the ANC ahead nationally on about 31 percent, the DA on about 24 to 25 percent and the MK Party on about 10 percent, followed by the EFF on about 6 percent and ActionSA on about 6 percent. Another tracker puts the ANC’s share roughly 14 points below its 2021 result. Turnout was about 52 percent. There is no national winner, because each council is decided separately.
In the big cities, the DA leads in six of the eight metros according to provisional figures: Cape Town (about 58 to 62 percent), Johannesburg (about 37 to 40 percent), Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Nelson Mandela Bay and Mangaung. In Durban’s eThekwini metro, the MK Party leads on roughly 40 to 44 percent of counted votes, ahead of the DA on about 24 to 25 percent and the ANC on about 17 percent, which pushes the ANC out of first place there. The ANC leads in Buffalo City but no longer holds an outright majority. Figures differ between trackers and change as districts report, and a hung council is expected in several places, including eThekwini.
The national percentages matter less than the council arithmetic. A party that leads Johannesburg with about 40 percent still needs partners to govern, so the real story will be the coalition talks that start after Sunday’s declaration. The MK Party’s result in Durban shows that a party at about 10 percent nationally can still dominate one city, while the ANC’s fall shows how much its support has eroded in the places it once ran outright.
– Election held November 4, 2026; official IEC results due Sunday, November 8
– Provisional national vote: ANC about 31 percent, DA about 24 to 25 percent, MK about 10 percent
– DA leads six of eight metros; MK leads eThekwini; ANC leads Buffalo City
– Hung councils expected; coalition talks to follow
Which coalition would you want to see running Johannesburg? Tell us why.
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