Bigger voter turnout than in 2021 local elections
National voter turnout rose to 52%, but the IEC is withholding the results for a voting station in Douglas, Northern Cape, which will undergo a formal re-vote.
Despite a dramatic loss in voter support, the ANC secured the lion’s share of votes in the 2026 Local Government Elections, taking more than 30% of the vote.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) made the announcement today (November 8), declaring the elections free and fair.
IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya said 29.2 million voters were registered for the election and 14.9 million citizens participated.
“The national turnout is 52%, which is an increase of 6.1 percentage points from the 45.9% turnout recorded in the 2021 local government elections.”
A total of 520 political parties and 636 independent candidates contested the election for 10 526 council seats.
Top five parties
- ANC – 30.76%
- DA – 24.64%
- MK Party – 9.77%
- EFF – 6.22%
- Action SA – 5.67%
Secured council seats
- ANC – 3 246
- DA – 1 695
- MK Party – 785
- EFF – 588
- Action SA – 320
“Political parties and independent candidates collectively not included in the top five received 22.97% of the vote and secured representation across municipal councils.”
Municipal council outcomes
He said the ANC received outright control in 53 municipalities and is the leading party in 128 municipalities.
The DA achieved outright control in 12 municipalities and is the leading party in 32, while the IFP received control in five municipalities and is the leading party in 19.
The MK Party achieved control in three municipalities and is the leading party in 20.
Douglas station faces re-vote
The results of the voting station in Douglas in the Northern Cape, where activists from a political party stormed the station and destroyed ballot papers before they could be counted, will be subject to a re-vote.
“In this respect, the commission will withhold the results because of the re-vote in that municipality,” said Moepya.
Success stories
The DA, VF+ and ActionSA have reason to celebrate their performance in the local elections:
- The DA rose slightly from 23.94% in 2011 to 24.64% in 2026.
- VF+ rose from 0.45% to 2.99%, more than six times its 2011 share.
- ActionSA more than doubled its share, from 2.33% in 2021 to 5.67% in 2026.
- The IFP increased from 3.57% in 2011 to 4.69% in 2026.
- The MK Party won 9.77% in its first local government election.
Decline in support
- The biggest decline was the ANC, which fell from 61.95% in 2011 to 30.76% in 2026 – a drop of 31.19 percentage points, almost halving its vote share. The ANC lost 8.04 points between 2011 and 2016, 8.32 points between 2016 and 2021 and 14.83 points since 2021.
- The EFF fell from 8.19% in 2016 to 6.22% in 2026, after reaching 10.31% in 2021.
LGE 2026 interesting facts:
- About 14.9 million citizens participated in the elections
- 23 696 voting stations were administered
- About 188 000 electoral personnel were deployed
- Just over 100 million ballot papers were printed
- About 28 million ballot papers were superseded, following a Constitutional Court order that required changes to the ballots.
- 56 000 voter management devices were deployed
- 16 000 additional Voter Management Devices were brought into operation
- 1 149 users registered on the Virtual Results Operating Centre
- 54 908 information requests were recorded on the Virtual ROC
- 14.3 million information requests were received through the application programming interfaces
Watch the 2026 Local Government Elections results announcement:
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Read original story on www.citizen.co.za
