South Africa: ANC leads DA by two points with 12% of ballots counted

The African National Congress (ANC) was credited with approximately 32% of the vote and the Democratic Alliance (DA) with 30% as of 4:12 AM GMT on November 5, 2026, with about 12% of the ballots from the previous day's South African municipal elections counted, according to Reuters, which relies on results from the electoral commission.

The agency warns that the count remains preliminary and is not yet representative of the national vote. Final results are expected on Sunday, November 8, 2026, according to Africanews.

What was at stake on November 4

More than 29 million voters were registered to renew the councils of a country that has 257 municipalities, reports Africanews. Out of 2.6 million people authorized to vote early, only 1.4 million did so, the electoral commission indicated on November 3, 2026. In 2021, turnout for the municipal elections was 46%.

The ANC fell below the 50% mark for the first time during these 2021 municipal elections, then obtained just over 40% in the 2024 national election, after which it formed a government of national unity with nine other parties. The DA, the country's second-largest party, was targeting Johannesburg; the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party of former president Jacob Zuma, third in 2024 with 14.5% of the vote, was leading the offensive in Durban. "We are going to start by taking back our country here," Jacob Zuma declared on Sunday, November 1, 2026, in Durban, according to Africanews.

Water and electricity at the heart of the vote

The campaign focused on degraded infrastructure, dry taps, inequality, and unemployment exceeding 30%. "People are not going to vote based on feelings," political analyst and former diplomat Kingsley Makhubela told AFP, citing water, electricity, roads, and sanitation. According to the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, 74 of the 257 municipalities were run by coalitions or minority administrations in February 2026.

Caution regarding the very first figures

Earlier in the night, at 2:35 AM South African time on November 5, 2026, the official results tally from the electoral commission published by the ESP website placed the ANC at 34.8%, the DA at 32.4%, the Patriotic Alliance at 4.7%, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) at 4.2%, and the MK at 2.5%. This count covered only 4.1% of voting districts at the time and does not predict the outcome in the metropolitan areas.

With absolute majorities far from guaranteed in several large cities, the election could open a new series of coalition negotiations, notes Africanews.