ANC leads national vote count as 82% of districts complete counting, but hung councils loom large

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The vote-counting process is reaching its final stages, with 82% of the voting districts across the country having been counted.

The African National Congress (ANC) is currently leading the national leaderboard with 31% of the total votes, followed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party.

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However, more and more municipal councils are hung, with parties failing to secure a 50% plus one majority.

At a municipal level, the DA continues to lead the electoral race in Gauteng’s three metros, the cities of Tshwane, Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni.

The ANC and ActionSA are trailing the DA, with the two parties appearing to be in a close contest for second place.

But despite leading in all three metros, the DA has not secured an outright majority, meaning coalition governments are likely to remain in place.

ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont said the party will turn its attention to coalition negotiations at a later stage.

“ActionSA will negotiate with any political party in South Africa. If you can name them, we are willing to negotiate with them. Whether we work with them or not will depend on a few things; key amongst which is the willingness to develop a shared programme of government that delivers services to everyone and not just some people.”

In Limpopo and the Eastern Cape, the ANC continues to enjoy substantial support in municipalities across the two provinces.

These provinces have traditionally been ANC strongholds, with the party already securing more than 50% of the vote in several municipalities.

This contrasts with the picture in Gauteng, where the ANC appears to be losing its dominant position, with the blue party taking the lead in key metropolitan municipalities.

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5 hours ago5 hours ago10 hours ago10 hours ago11 hours ago11 hours ago11 hours ago11 hours ago12 hours ago13 hours agoMore in Local Elections 20266 November 2026 17:17

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