South Africa Election Leaves ANC at 30.89%
South Africa’s Electoral Commission has declared the 2026 local-election results, with the ANC winning 30.89% nationally and the DA 24.60%. The vote leaves the ANC largest but sharply short of a national majority, while municipal seat totals and coalition negotiations will determine who governs locally.
South Africa’s Electoral Commission has formally declared the results of the 2026 local government elections, confirming a fragmented national vote and a steep setback for the African National Congress. The official declaration put the ANC on 30.89% of the vote and the Democratic Alliance on 24.60%. The ANC remains the largest party nationally, but its result leaves it far from an outright majority and makes negotiations central to governing many municipalities.
The figures are from the declaration delivered by Electoral Commission chairperson Mosotho Moepya on Sunday. The commission said all 213 municipal councils had been finalised and declared. It recorded national turnout at 52%, up from 45.9% in the 2021 local elections, with approximately 14.9 million people casting ballots from 29.2 million registered voters.
A fragmented result, not a simple two-party contest
The ANC’s 30.89% was the largest single-party share, but other parties and independent candidates collectively accounted for 22.97%, according to the official tally. The uMkhonto weSizwe Party received 9.61%, the Economic Freedom Fighters 6.25% and ActionSA 5.68%. The DA secured the second-largest share at 24.60%. These results describe a divided electorate rather than a transfer of national support from one party to another in a neat two-party contest.
The vote share is only one part of how local power will be decided. The commission said the ANC had outright control in 51 municipalities and was the leading party in 120. The DA had outright control in 12 and led in 29. The uMkhonto weSizwe Party controlled three municipalities and led in 18, while the Inkatha Freedom Party controlled five and led in 19. In councils without an outright majority, parties will need to negotiate agreements to elect office-bearers and pass budgets.
Those talks can be consequential even when the national ranking is clear. Municipal councils oversee decisions that residents encounter in daily life: local roads, waste collection, water provision, electricity distribution in many areas, planning and the administration of local services. A party’s national percentage does not automatically decide who becomes mayor in a particular city or which grouping can assemble a working council majority. Seat distribution and the choices of smaller parties and independents matter.
Service delivery is the test after election day
During the campaign, frustrations over basic services featured prominently. The Associated Press reported that voters in towns and cities were concerned about unreliable water and electricity, damaged roads, broken streetlights and rubbish collection. These issues are not abstract measures of political popularity: they affect household routines, small businesses and the way residents judge local government.
The official results show the political consequence of that dissatisfaction, but the vote alone cannot identify one cause for every party’s performance. South Africa’s electorate is diverse, and local contests reflect different histories, candidates and municipal conditions. The results establish where support went; explaining why requires looking at local evidence rather than assuming the same issue drove every voter in every ward.
For parties that win or join governing coalitions, the next test is practical. Residents will judge councils by whether services become more reliable, maintenance is visible, budgets are passed and officials can be held accountable. Coalition partners may agree on the need to improve services while disagreeing over appointments, spending priorities or who leads a municipality. Those negotiations need to produce more than a list of positions if the council is to function.
The ANC’s result is especially significant because the party remains the largest nationally while losing much of its former dominance in municipal politics. It received 45.59% in the previous local government election in 2021, according to the official declaration’s turnout comparison and the commission’s historic result. The 2026 figure underscores that a long-established governing party can retain the largest bloc and still face a much more competitive field.
Coalitions will shape local government
Coalition bargaining is now a practical part of South African local politics. The country’s national government already operates through a multi-party arrangement formed after the 2024 national election, but municipal coalitions are negotiated council by council. Local alliances may involve different combinations of parties and will have to contend with local issues, personalities and arithmetic rather than simply copy the national formula.
For residents, a coalition agreement matters when it sets out how the administration will make decisions, resolve disputes and keep essential work moving. A fragile arrangement can consume time in repeated leadership contests or disagreements over budgets. A clear agreement, regular public reporting and scrutiny from opposition councillors can make it easier for voters to see which parties are responsible for decisions.
Smaller parties and independents therefore have influence beyond their vote share. In a council where no party holds a majority, their support may determine who governs and whether a budget or policy can pass. That leverage comes with responsibility: voters will expect those representatives to explain what they negotiated and how their participation serves local communities.
What the official declaration says about the process
The commission reported that 521 political parties and 636 independent candidates contested the election, fielding approximately 137,000 candidates. It also noted one voting district in Ward 3 of Siyancuma Municipality where ballot papers were destroyed before counting; a revote is to be organised there. That is a specific local process and does not erase the national results already declared.
Turnout rising to 52% is another important part of the picture. More than half of registered voters participated, a higher proportion than in 2021, although nearly 14.3 million registered voters did not cast a ballot in this election. That gap leaves questions for parties and election officials about participation, access and public trust. Moepya’s declaration said the commission would examine concerns including intimidation, impartiality, inclusive voting and information gaps.
The immediate political story is therefore twofold: the ANC remains first in national vote share, but the governing landscape is more dispersed; and the commission’s declared totals now move the focus from counting to council formation. The election is not a direct forecast of a future national contest. Municipalities have their own responsibilities and political balances, and the coalitions formed in the coming period will be judged against local needs.
South Africans have cast their ballots. The next measure of this result will be whether newly formed councils can turn their mandates into functioning administrations and better local services. Coalition deals may decide who holds office; sustained public scrutiny will determine whether those offices deliver.
