SOUTH AFRICA · POLITICS
South African voters have told the ruling party to share power in town halls across the country. The African National Congress (ANC), the party of President Cyril Ramaphosa, won 30.76% of the national vote in municipal elections held on Wednesday 4 November 2026.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), the independent body that runs elections, declared the results on Sunday 8 November, and 127 of 213 councils have no majority party. US readers should care because the ANC also shares national government with the Democratic Alliance (DA), a rival party, so local deals can test that partnership.
Key Facts
- Who The ANC took 30.76% nationally; the Democratic Alliance (DA) took 24.64%.
- What 127 of 213 councils are hung, meaning no party holds more than half the seats.
- Why Councils must be constituted within 14 days of the declaration, so talks are urgent.
- Prediction markets Polymarket, a prediction market, last traded Helen Zille, a DA veteran, at 55% to be Johannesburg’s next mayor (8 November, 5:29 p.m. ET).
- As of 8 November 2026, 22:30 GMT
In Plain English
Hung council: a local council where no party holds more than half the seats.
Constituted: formally set up, with a mayor, a speaker and committees chosen.
National Executive Committee (NEC): the ANC’s top body between party conferences.
Government of National Unity: the multi-party national government formed after the 2024 election.
What Happened in the Municipal Vote
About 14.9 million of 29.2 million registered voters cast a ballot, a turnout of 52%. That is up 6.1 points from 45.9% in 2021, and 1.84% of ballots were spoilt.
The ANC won 3,246 council seats on 30.76%. The DA won 1,695 seats on 24.64%, the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party of former president Jacob Zuma 785 on 9.76%, and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a left-wing party, 588 on 6.22%.
ActionSA, a party led by Herman Mashaba, took 313 seats on 5.67%. IEC chair Mosotho Moepya declared the elections “free and fair” at the results centre in Midrand, a city between Johannesburg and Pretoria.
Why the ANC Is Weighing Its Options
In a statement on Saturday 7 November, ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said: “we did not do well in this election”. The party put its own result “north of thirty-one per cent” before the final count, slightly above the IEC’s 30.76%.
The statement said: “As we speak there are no formal talks under way.” The party’s NEC “will meet shortly in a Special Meeting”, but no date was given.
Nationally, the ANC currently governs alongside the DA in the Government of National Unity. That makes council deals with the DA a test of the national partnership.
What the Law and the President Say
Namane Dickson Masemola, Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (the national ministry for local government), said the law requires councils to be constituted within 14 days of the declaration. He said political discussions ought to take place in that window, with formal meetings to elect mayors, speakers and executive committees to follow.
He said a detailed timetable exists but “might work or might not work” in a political situation. President Cyril Ramaphosa, who leads the ANC, spoke at the results ceremony on 8 November.
Ramaphosa said that where no party has an outright majority, elected representatives “will need to find common ground”. He added: “This is not a weakness of democracy.”
Ramaphosa also said: “The stability of our municipalities cannot be sacrificed to narrow political interests.” On budgets he was brief: “Budgets must be passed on time.”
What Prediction Markets Say
Polymarket, a real-money prediction market, last traded Helen Zille, a DA veteran and former Western Cape premier, at 55% to be Johannesburg’s next mayor. Herman Mashaba, the ActionSA leader, last traded at 21%, and about US$151,000 has been traded across the whole market (8 November 2026, 5:29 p.m. ET).
These prices are bets, not polls. They show what traders expect, not what councillors have agreed.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What Is Not Known
The ANC has not published a date for its NEC meeting. It is also not known which parties the ANC and the DA will partner with.
Who becomes mayor in each big city is still open. The date of the 14-day deadline is not published in the material we read, so we do not calculate one.
What It Means for You
For anyone watching South Africa as an investor or visitor, the next weeks are about whether coalition deals produce councils that work. Each of the 127 hung councils needs its own agreement, and the outcomes may differ.
Investors should also watch South Africa’s next unemployment report, since the last reading was 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026. Read more on hung councils and the deadline and how coalitions work in South Africa.
We also cover the South African Communist Party’s position.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the ANC win in South Africa’s 2026 local elections?
The ANC won 30.76% of the national vote and 3,246 council seats. Turnout was 52%.
What is a hung council?
A hung council is one where no party holds more than half the seats. The IEC results show 127 of 213 councils are hung.
How long do parties have to constitute councils?
Deputy Minister Masemola said the law requires councils to be constituted within 14 days of the declaration. We have not published a calendar date for that deadline.
Who is favoured to be Johannesburg’s next mayor?
On Polymarket, the last trades put the DA’s Helen Zille at 55% and ActionSA’s Herman Mashaba at 21% on 8 November at 5:29 p.m. ET. These are bets, not polls.
Sources: Electoral Commission of South Africa results declaration (https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/iec-declares-lge-2026-free-and-fair); government briefing on constituting municipal councils (https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/focus-shifts-constituting-municipal-councils); presidential remarks (https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/president-urges-parties-put-service-delivery-ahead-political-interests); ANC statement of 7 November 2026 (https://www.anc1912.org.za/the-anc-statement-on-the-2026-local-government-election-outcomes/); Polymarket (https://polymarket.com/event/next-mayor-of-johannesburg-20260609220245506), read 8 November 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. How we use AI · Report an error