ANC clings to top spot with 30.76% as DA takes five of South Africa’s eight metros

Photo: President Cyril Ramaphosa at the IEC results announcement in Midrand · Source: IOL (8 Nov 2026)

The IEC has declared the final results of South Africa’s 2026 local elections: the ANC holds 30.76% and 3,246 seats, while the DA leads in five of the eight metros.

South Africa’s Electoral Commission (IEC) declared the final results of the 2026 Local Government Elections on Sunday evening (8 Nov), after voting on 4 Nov.

The ANC remains the largest party nationally with 30.76% of the vote and 3,246 council seats — down from 45.6% in 2021 — but secured outright control in only 53 of 213 municipalities and leads in 128.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) took 24.64% and 1,695 seats, and emerged as the leading party in five of the eight metros: Cape Town (where it kept an outright majority), Johannesburg (34.8%), Tshwane (34.4%), Ekurhuleni (30.7%) and Nelson Mandela Bay (44.2%).

The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, contesting its first local elections, came third with 9.76% and 785 seats — and topped the poll in eThekwini (Durban) with 86 of 223 seats, short of the 112 needed for a majority. The EFF fell to 6.22% (588 seats); ActionSA took 5.67% (313 seats). Turnout was 52% (14.9 million of 29.2 million registered voters), up from 45.9% in 2021.

The IEC declared the elections free and fair; no party won an outright majority in seven of the eight metros, so coalition negotiations now decide who governs South Africa’s biggest cities. President Ramaphosa attended the announcement in Midrand and warned parties ahead of coalition talks. One re-vote is pending in Douglas, Northern Cape, where ballot papers were destroyed.

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