More than 60% of the 66 073 results from South Africa’s 2026 Local Government Elections had been captured by 17:00 today (November 5), as the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) continued its verification and auditing processes.

The IEC reported that 40 202 results slips had been scanned and 32 238 independently audited, with 65 of the country’s 213 municipalities having completed the capturing, scanning, auditing and exception process.

At a media briefing earlier tonight, IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya said that as at 17h00, 40 202 results slips had been scanned and 32 238 had undergone independent auditing as part of the verification and quality assurance processes.

“These measures are aimed at ensuring the accuracy, transparency and integrity of the results before they are finalised,” he added.

Where the provinces stand

In the Northern Cape, 87% of results had been captured, followed by the Western Cape (69%), the Eastern Cape (60%) and the Free State (64%). Mpumalanga had captured 52% of its results, while KZN stood at 37%, and Gauteng and North West were both at 35%. Limpopo had captured 23%.

What’s happening at municipal level?

A total of 65 of the 213 municipalities (31%) across the country have completed the capturing, scanning, auditing and exception process.

These figures are provisional until the finalisation of objections material to an election, stressed Moepya.

“The commission remains committed to finalising the results as expeditiously as possible, while ensuring that all prescribed verification and quality assurance processes are rigorously followed to safeguard the accuracy, transparency and integrity of the results.

“It is anticipated that the results collation process will be concluded by the weekend.”

The IEC urged political parties, independent candidates, the media and members of the public to exercise caution when interpreting partial results and to rely on officially verified results published by the IEC.

Innovation speeds up process

One innovation going into the 2026 Local Government Elections was the enhanced Issue Tracker, a mechanism for contestants and electoral staff to report issues that could impair the election process.

The Issue Tracker, a component of the Virtual Results Operations Centre, provides remote access to the electoral operational systems and the 10 Results Operations Centres.

The system efficiently resolved over 1 000 cases logged since the commencement of special votes, said Moepya.

As results continue to come in, the IEC reiterated its call for all stakeholders to continue observing election regulations during the results-processing phase and avoid issuing disinformation about the results.

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