A hung council is one where no party or group of parties holds an outright majority of seats. After the 2021 local elections, 70 councils were hung, and one analyst says the number could climb to around 100 after Wednesday's vote.
What "hung" means
When no party wins a majority, a mayor and executive can only be put in place through agreements between parties. Those agreements can be formal coalitions or looser arrangements, and they can be fragile.
Why the number could rise
Louw Nel, senior political analyst at Oxford Economics Africa, said: "I would not be surprised if that number goes up to maybe 100."
He was speaking about the risk that hung councils pose to efforts to recover money owed to Eskom, which says municipalities owe it R122.5bn.
Why it matters to residents
Councils decide budgets, set tariffs and run services such as water and refuse collection. A council that cannot agree on a governing arrangement can struggle to pass budgets and payment plans.
- National Treasury has set a compliance roadmap for indebted municipalities with deadlines stretching to 30 November.
- Treasury data shows that only 63.9% of the R484.5bn owed to municipalities by households and businesses is collected.
What we do not yet know
- How many councils will actually be hung. That depends on the declared results.
- Which parties will negotiate with which, and how long negotiations will take.
- How the Treasury will treat councils that miss deadlines while coalition talks are under way.
The IEC will declare official results. Until then, any claim about who has won a council is unconfirmed.
