The African National Congress (ANC) won 30.76% of the national vote in the 2026 local government elections, down from 45.59% in 2021, according to the final results declared by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) on Sunday evening. The Democratic Alliance (DA) rose to 24.64% and the MK Party, contesting its first local elections, took 9.76%.

IEC chair Mosotho Moepya declared the elections "free and fair" at the National Results Operations Centre in Midrand.

The national results

The ANC won 3,246 seats, the DA 1,695, the MK Party 785, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) 588 and ActionSA 313. The EFF's share fell to 6.22% from 10.31% in 2021, while ActionSA more than doubled its share to 5.67% from 2.33%. One report puts the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) at 4.69% and the Patriotic Alliance at 1.98%. Other parties and independents together took about 22.97%. Spoilt votes were 1.84%.

Moepya said about 14.9 million of 29.2 million registered voters cast ballots, a turnout of about 52%. Reports differ slightly on the voter total and turnout change from 2021, so those figures should be treated as approximate until the IEC publishes its full report.

Councils and metros

Of 213 municipal councils, 74 were won outright: the ANC 53, the DA 12, the IFP 5, the MK Party 3 and a local party 1. The rest are hung, meaning no party holds more than half the seats. Reports give different hung-council totals, from 127 to 139, so the exact number is unconfirmed.

In the metros, the DA topped the poll in Johannesburg (34.79%), Tshwane (34.37%), Ekurhuleni (30.68%), Cape Town (56.42%, an outright majority) and Nelson Mandela Bay (44.17%). The MK Party led eThekwini with 38.29%. In Mangaung the ANC led narrowly on 33.91% to the DA's 33.49%, and in Buffalo City the ANC led with 41.93%. Apart from Cape Town, the metro figures come from a single report.

Douglas revote

The IEC will hold a fresh vote in Ward 3 of the Siyancuma municipality in Douglas, Northern Cape, after ballot papers were destroyed before counting when a party's activists stormed the voting station, according to reports. Moepya said the commission would act "with speed". The IEC has approached the Electoral Court and opened a criminal case. Siyancuma's results are withheld until the revote, and no date has been given.

What happens next

President Cyril Ramaphosa, delivering the keynote, said "the delivery of essential services cannot be held hostage by political disagreements" and urged parties to "negotiate in good faith to elect office-bearers so that councils can get to work."

Under the Municipal Structures Act, each council must hold its first meeting within 14 days of being declared elected, which for councils declared on 8 November means by 22 November. Coalition talks do not suspend that deadline.

What we do not yet know

The final hung-council count, the date of the Douglas revote and the outcome of remaining objections and recounts are not confirmed. The IEC's own detailed results should be checked against the figures above before publication.