South Africa’s African National Congress has suffered its worst election result since democracy began in 1994. The party won 30.76 percent of the vote in the local government elections held on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. The Electoral Commission of South Africa declared the final results on Sunday evening, November 8, at the National Results Operation Centre in Midrand, Gauteng. The ANC took 3,246 council seats. The result is a steep fall from the 45.59 percent the party won in the 2021 local elections, and far below the 64.82 percent it recorded in 2006. The Democratic Alliance finished second with 24.64 percent, while former President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe Party took 9.76 percent in its first local election contest. Turnout rose to 52.29 percent, and 141 of 213 councils are hung, so coalition talks will now decide who governs most of the country.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Fact |
|---|---|
| Election date | Wednesday, November 4, 2026 |
| Results declared | Sunday evening, November 8, 2026 |
| Declaration venue | National Results Operation Centre, Midrand, Gauteng |
| ANC vote share | 30.76 percent |
| ANC council seats | 3,246 |
| ANC vote share in 2021 | 45.59 percent |
| ANC vote share in 2006 | 64.82 percent |
| DA vote share | 24.64 percent |
| DA council seats | 1,695 |
| MK Party vote share | 9.76 percent |
| MK Party council seats | 785 |
| Voter turnout | 52.29 percent |
| Ballots cast | About 14.9 million |
| Registered voters | 29.2 million |
| Hung councils | 141 of 213 |
| Coalition deadline | 14 days from the announcement |
What the Final Results Show
The Electoral Commission of South Africa, known as the IEC, declared the final results on Sunday evening, November 8. IEC Chairperson Mosotho Moepya declared the polls free and fair. The announcement closed a counting process that followed voting on Wednesday, November 4, 2026.
The headline number is the ANC share of 30.76 percent, worth 3,246 council seats across the country. The Democratic Alliance, known as the DA, finished second with 24.64 percent of the vote and 1,695 seats. The MK Party, led in public profile by former President Jacob Zuma, finished third with 9.76 percent and 785 seats in its first local election contest.
The scale of the change becomes clear at provincial and municipal level. The ANC now retains an outright majority in only one of South Africa’s nine provinces, Limpopo. That compares with six provinces where it held an outright majority after the 2021 elections. At municipal level, the party holds an outright majority in only two of the eight major cities. Only 72 of 213 municipal councils produced an outright majority winner, leaving 141 hung councils where no single party won enough seats to govern alone.
How Far the ANC Has Fallen
The ANC has governed South Africa since the first democratic elections in 1994. For many years it won local elections by large margins. In 2006 the party won 64.82 percent of the vote in local elections. That figure now looks like a high point from another era.
The decline has been steady. The party won 45.59 percent in 2021, and five years later it has lost almost 15 percentage points from that result.
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula did not hide the scale of the setback. He called the result “catastrophic” for the party. His word choice matters because senior ANC leaders rarely use such blunt language about their own results in public. At the same time, Mbalula said the party would not go begging for positions when coalition talks begin. That line sets the tone for the negotiations ahead. The ANC will enter talks as a weakened party, but it does not plan to accept junior roles at any price.
The DA Gains Ground in the Big Cities
The Democratic Alliance finished second with 24.64 percent of the vote and 1,695 seats, up from 21.62 percent in 2021. The gain of about three percentage points is modest in national terms, but the geography of the DA vote gives it real power. The party retains Cape Town outright. It also leads in five of South Africa’s eight metros.
The metro numbers show where the DA is strongest. In Johannesburg the DA won 34.79 percent. In Tshwane it won 34.37 percent. In Ekurhuleni it won 30.68 percent. Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni are three of the largest urban economies in the country. Leading in those metros puts the DA at the centre of coalition talks in the places where most South Africans live and work.
The MK Party Arrives as a Third Force
The third story of the election is the arrival of the MK Party. Former President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe Party took 9.76 percent of the vote and 785 seats in its first local election contest. Finishing third in a first attempt is a striking result for a new party.
The MK Party result matters for two reasons. First, it shows that a large share of voters who left the ANC did not move to the DA. They moved to a party built around a former ANC president. That split in the vote helps explain why the ANC fell so far while the DA gained only about three percentage points. The opposition vote is now divided between at least two large parties rather than gathered behind one challenger.
Second, the MK Party now holds enough seats to matter in coalition talks. With 785 council seats, the party will be a player in many hung councils. Parties that need a partner to reach a majority will have to talk to the MK Party in some places. That gives the new party influence well beyond its national share of under ten percent. A party that did not contest the last local elections now holds nearly one seat in ten at council level.
What Happens Next: 141 Hung Councils and Coalition Talks
Only 72 of 213 municipal councils produced an outright majority winner. The other 141 councils are hung, which means no party won more than half the seats. In those councils, parties must now negotiate to form a government. Parties have 14 days from the announcement to negotiate municipal governments.
The DA faces a similar test. Leading in five of eight metros gives the party a strong hand, but leading is not the same as holding a majority. In Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni the DA leads without an outright majority. It will need coalition partners to govern those cities. The MK Party and smaller parties will be courted by both sides in the days ahead.
Change is also under way elsewhere on the continent. A ruling in Nigeria saw a court void an opposition candidacy, while in Senegal grief followed a migrant boat tragedy that claimed 35 lives, and in Paraguay the senate acted to remove a president and swear in a successor.
Why Voters Turned Away
The decline of the ANC is widely linked to failures in basic services such as water and electricity. This is the explanation most often given for the steady fall in the party’s local vote over the last 15 years. Local government is where service delivery succeeds or fails, and voters judge their councils on whether the taps run and the lights stay on.
When a party holds six provinces outright after one election and only one after the next, the change is too large to blame on a single event or a single campaign mistake. It points to a deeper loss of trust built up over years of poor services. The next test for the ANC is whether it can rebuild that trust from a weaker position, now that coalition politics is the normal way of governing South Africa’s towns and cities.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the ANC vote share in the 2026 local elections?
The ANC won 30.76 percent of the vote and 3,246 council seats. That is the party’s worst result since democracy began in 1994, down from 45.59 percent in 2021 and far below the 64.82 percent it won in 2006.
Who finished second and third in the elections?
The Democratic Alliance finished second with 24.64 percent of the vote and 1,695 seats, up from 21.62 percent in 2021. The DA retains Cape Town outright and leads in five of South Africa’s eight metros, including Johannesburg at 34.79 percent, Tshwane at 34.37 percent and Ekurhuleni at 30.68 percent. The MK Party finished third with 9.76 percent and 785 seats in its first local election contest.
What is a hung council?
A hung council is a municipal council where no single party has won more than half of the seats. No party can govern alone in a hung council, so parties must negotiate a coalition or another agreement to form a government. In these elections, 141 of 213 municipal councils are hung, while only 72 produced an outright majority winner.
When will new municipal governments be formed?
Parties have 14 days from the announcement of the final results to negotiate municipal governments. The results were declared on Sunday evening, November 8, 2026. The negotiations will decide who leads each hung council, including the mayoral posts in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni.
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Final Thoughts
The 2026 local elections mark a turning point in South African politics. The ANC has fallen to 30.76 percent, its worst result since 1994, and it now holds an outright majority in only one of nine provinces. The DA has gained ground in the big cities, and the MK Party has arrived as a third force with nearly ten percent of the vote in its first local contest. With 141 hung councils, coalition talks over the next 14 days will decide who governs most of the country at local level.
