LIMPOPO – Five of the nine Limpopo municipalities whose election results have been finalised so far have produced hung councils, forcing the ANC to seek coalition partners if it wants to govern.

Provincial electoral officer Nkaro Mateta confirmed the outcome during a media briefing at the Electoral Commission of South Africa’s (IEC) Results Operations Centre (ROC) at The Ranch Resort on Friday.

Of Limpopo’s 22 municipalities, results had been finalised in nine by Friday afternoon, with 13 still outstanding.

According to the IEC’s results board, the ANC had secured outright control of only four municipalities whose results had been completed.

READ ALSO: WATCH: DA, ActionSA and BOSA raise election counting concerns

Five hung councils

The five municipalities confirmed as hung are Maruleng in Mopani District and Mogalakwena, Bela-Bela, Lephalale and Thabazimbi in Waterberg District.

The ANC previously governed most of these municipalities outright but will now require coalition partners to retain control.

Mateta confirmed that Maruleng would be governed by a hung council despite the ANC receiving just over 50% of the vote, as seat allocation did not give the party an outright majority.

At the time of writing, results for the remaining municipalities, including Ephraim Mogale, had not yet been finalised.

Tight races

Preliminary results displayed at the ROC and published on the IEC’s live results system, subject to final verification, showed the following vote shares:

• Lephalale: ANC 33.19%, DA 25.99%, SACP 20.06%, VF Plus 8.63%
• Thabazimbi: ANC 29.12%, DA 19.00%, SACP 12.34%, VF Plus 9.50%
• Maruleng: ANC 50.34%, EFF 10.30%, DA 10.09%, MCM Party 7.64%
• Bela-Bela: ANC 40.42%, EFF 16.34%, DA 13.85%, BBA 11.29%

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: IEC reports isolated election incidents across Limpopo

Coin toss to decide Ward 5

In Ward 5 of the Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality, the ANC and ActionSA received the same number of votes.

Mateta said the Municipal Structures Act requires tied ward results to be decided by lot.

“Both parties will be called to agree to accept the outcome before the municipal electoral officer tosses a coin,” she said.

“If I choose heads and it favours me, I’ve won the ward. If I choose tails and it doesn’t favour me, I’ve lost.”

Coalition talks

Representatives of ActionSA, DA, SACP and the EFF said they were open to coalition discussions, provided any agreements prioritised good governance and tackling corruption.

ANC provincial spokesperson Reuben Madadzhe, who was also at the ROC, said the party respected the election outcomes as reflecting the will of Limpopo voters.

He said the ANC’s provincial leadership would await guidance from Luthuli House before entering coalition negotiations.