Vote counting enters final stage with 90% of districts counted
The results are becoming clearer, with the African National Congress topping the national leaderboard with 31%.
Alpha Ramushwana
A voter marks his ballot in a voting booth at the University of the Witwatersrand polling station in Johannesburg, on November 4, 2026, during South Africa's local government elections. Picture: Cecilia Seregni/ AFP
Cecilia Seregni/ AFP
The vote-counting process has finally entered its final stage, with 90% of the voting districts counted.
The results are becoming clearer, with the African National Congress (ANC) topping the national leaderboard with 31%.
However, the picture remains different in the Gauteng metros, where the Democratic Alliance (DA) is leading Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni.
Meanwhile, political parties now have to come to terms with the reality that coalition governments are seemingly here to stay.
In the other local municipalities in Gauteng such as Merafong, Mogale City and Rand West City, no party has so far secured an electoral majority either.
Emfuleni, on the other hand, is still at an early stage of the counting process, with only 10% of voting districts captured.
This means it may take considerably longer before a clearer picture of the results emerges.
Midvaal remains the only municipality in the province where a political party has managed to secure an outright 50% plus one majority.
The DA has retained control of the municipality, securing more than 62% of the vote.
This means Midvaal will be the only municipality where the DA can govern without the need for a coalition, as it may have to enter into coalition arrangements in other municipalities.