The ANC has for the first time failed to garner 50% of the vote in the Thaba Chweu Local Municipality (TCLM). This ended a 31-year period of one-party dominance since the first local government elections in 1995.

The party achieved a total of 41.05%, a massive decline from the 58.33% achieved in 2021. Although the ANC secured the most ward seats, the party has not obtained an outright majority in the 27-seat council.

The 2026 TCLM election results mean the municipality has no outright winner, leaving it as one of the hung councils in Mpumalanga that will require a coalition government.

With the vote counting complete, the DA achieved 19.51%, a slight decline from the 21.88% achieved in 2021. The EFF is in third place, having improved from 11.56% in 2021 to 14.78%.

Coalition negotiations take centre stage

Now that counting is complete, political parties have shifted their focus to coalition negotiations.

Among the possible combinations is an ANC-DA arrangement, an ANC-EFF arrangement, or an EFF-DA arrangement that would also require other parties. Parties such as the Service Delivery Party, the SACP, the VF Plus and other organisations that achieved less than 4% of the final vote are expected to play a crucial role in forming a government in the TCLM. This will depend on the coalition negotiations between party leaders.

ANC retains majority in Fetakgomo Tubatse

Meanwhile, in the Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality (FTLM), the ANC continues to lead after garnering 56.56% of the vote, down from the 68.18% achieved in 2021. Despite the decline, the ANC still has majority control and looks set to appoint its own mayor in due course.

The EFF will remain the opposition party having achieved 14.92% of the vote, a slight decrease from the 17% achieved in 2021. Contesting the elections for the first time, the SACP is now the third most popular party in the FTLM, achieving 6.83% of the vote.

The ANC has won 38 of the 39 wards in the FTLM. The EFF became the first party to win a ward from the ANC in the FTLM, clinching Ward 16.

Ward 16 includes villages such as Ga-Motshana, Maakubu, Ga-Malepe, and villages surrounding the Penge area. EFF’s Ward 16 candidate Delta Madire beat off stiff competition from popular ANC candidate Khutjo Mokgotho. Madire amassed a total of 3 275 votes against Mokgotho’s 2 562.

In both the TCLM and the FTLM, the IEC was yet to confirm the allocation of proportional representation (PR) seats on the morning of November 7.