The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) says more than 5% of votes have been counted following the closure of voting stations in the 2026 Local Government Elections on Wednesday night.
Counting and verification are under way across the country as South Africans await the results that will determine the composition of municipal councils for the next five years.
According to the IEC, approximately 12.5 million registered voters had cast their ballots by 5pm on Wednesday.
ANC leads in early results
Preliminary results indicate that the African National Congress (ANC) is leading in the number of ward seats declared so far, with 19 victories.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has secured seven ward victories, including four in the Western Cape and two in the Northern Cape, as well as a win in Sundays River Valley in the Eastern Cape.
The Patriotic Alliance (PA) has won four wards, mainly in areas where it traditionally enjoys support in the Northern and Western Cape.
ActionSA has secured a ward in Laingsburg in the Western Cape, while the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party has recorded an early victory in uMzimkhulu, KwaZulu-Natal.
The results remain preliminary, with counting continuing across the country and several municipalities yet to report significant numbers of completed voting districts.
Counting and verification continue
The IEC has outlined a detailed process to ensure that votes are accurately counted and verified before the final results are announced.
Ballot papers are being counted at the voting stations where they were cast, in the presence of political party agents, independent candidate representatives and accredited observers.
Following the counting process, results are reconciled against the ballot papers received, issued, unused, spoiled and counted at each voting station.
Results slips are then signed by presiding officers and countersigned by party agents before being displayed at the voting stations.
The results are subsequently scanned and captured at IEC local offices, where they undergo verification and independent auditing.
The commission has indicated that it intends to announce the final results as soon as the counting, verification and outstanding queries have been completed, rather than necessarily waiting until the end of the prescribed seven-day period.
A closely watched election
The 2026 Local Government Elections are being closely watched amid growing political competition and concerns about municipal service delivery.
A total of 29.2 million registered voters were eligible to participate, with more than 136,000 candidates contesting 10,526 council seats across 257 municipalities.
The results are expected to have significant implications for the governing ANC, opposition parties and the formation of coalition governments in municipalities where no party secures an outright majority.
The IEC says the counting and verification process remains ongoing, with further results expected to be released as they become available.
