SOUTH AFRICA · LOCAL ELECTIONS
Key Facts
- Big cities Of South Africa’s eight big-city councils (metros), only Cape Town gave one party a majority.
- The DA The Democratic Alliance (DA), a centre-right party, leads five metros, winning Cape Town outright with about 56%.
- The ANC The African National Congress (ANC), the ruling party, leads only Buffalo City and Mangaung, and wins none outright.
- Next Councils must hold a first meeting, where mayors are chosen, within 14 days of the 8 November result.
- Prediction markets Polymarket, a real-money prediction market, gives DA mayoral candidate Helen Zille 58.5% to be Johannesburg’s next mayor (10 November, 9:49 a.m. ET).
South Africa’s final local election results leave one big city with a clear winner and seven that must bargain. Cape Town is the only one of the country’s eight metros, its largest city councils, where a single party won a majority.
For US readers, the deals decide who runs budgets, water and power in Johannesburg, Tshwane (Pretoria) and Durban, where American firms operate. The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), the independent body that runs elections, declared all results final on Sunday 8 November 2026.
What Happened in the Eight Big Cities
Cape Town gave the DA about 56% of the vote and a clear majority. In Johannesburg the DA led with about 35%, while the ANC fell to about 20%.
ActionSA, a party founded by former Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba, came third with roughly one vote in six. In Tshwane, the capital region around Pretoria, the DA led with about 34%, ahead of ActionSA and the ANC, who both polled in the low 20s.
In Ekurhuleni, the industrial region east of Johannesburg, the DA took about 31%, the ANC about 22% and ActionSA about 18%. In eThekwini, the metro around Durban, the MK Party (short for uMkhonto weSizwe), founded by former president Jacob Zuma, took about 38% in its first local election.
The DA came second in eThekwini with about a quarter of the vote and the ANC third with about 16%. The MK Party fell short of a majority, so it must find partners.
The Close Calls in the East and the Heartland
In Nelson Mandela Bay, the metro around Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) in the Eastern Cape, the DA won about 44% against about 25% for the ANC. The DA is the largest party there but still needs partners.
In Buffalo City, the metro around East London, the ANC kept first place with about 42%, down from about 59% in 2021. The United Democratic Movement (UDM), a small opposition party, rose from about 1% to about 18%.
In Mangaung, the metro around Bloemfontein, the ANC finished first with the DA less than a point behind. Neither is close to a majority, so the next mayor will depend on smaller parties.
The Seat Count in Johannesburg
Johannesburg’s council has 270 seats, so a majority is 136. The DA holds 91, the ANC 63, ActionSA 43, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF, a left-wing party) 17 and the MK Party 15.
The DA and ActionSA together would hold 134 seats, two short of a majority. The DA and the ANC together would hold 154, and our report on the ANC’s coalition choices follows that option.
The National Picture and the Objections
Nationally the ANC won 30.76% of the vote, down from about 46% in 2021, and the DA won 24.64%. Of the 213 municipal councils, the commission says 127 are hung, meaning no party holds more than half the seats.
The commission declared the results on Sunday 8 November and ordered a revote at one voting station in Douglas, a town in the Northern Cape, after an incident in which ballot material was destroyed. Our report on the declaration has the details.
What Prediction Markets Say
Polymarket, a prediction market where users bet real money, gives Helen Zille of the DA a 58.5% chance of becoming Johannesburg mayor and ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba 5.4%, with US$154,521 traded across the market (10 November, 9:49 a.m. ET). These prices are bets, not polls, and they can move quickly as coalition talks develop.
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 It Means for You
City councils run water, electricity, roads and local budgets, so stalled talks in Johannesburg, Tshwane or Durban can slow contracts for firms that work there. The vote does not change national policy, because the ANC and the DA still share the national government.
For investors in South African assets through US funds, the signal is the ANC’s fall to 30.76%, not any council seat. Our coalition explainer shows how earlier deals worked, and our Buffalo City report covers the biggest swing.
What Is Not Known
We give seat counts only for Johannesburg and round the vote shares for the other metros, because tallies differ by up to a point depending on whether ward and party-list votes are combined. Which parties will govern the seven hung metros is also open.
The commission has not announced a date for the Douglas revote. Each council will announce its own first-meeting date, and 22 November is our count from the declaration, not an official date.
More: South Africa news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which South African Cities Have a Majority Party?
Only Cape Town, where the DA won about 56% of the vote. The other seven metros, including Johannesburg, Tshwane and Durban, have no party with a majority.
Who Won Johannesburg in the 2026 Local Elections?
The DA finished first with about 35% of the vote and 91 of 270 seats, short of the 136 needed. The ANC took 63 seats and ActionSA 43.
When Must the New Metro Councils Choose Mayors?
The law gives councils 14 days from the declaration on 8 November 2026. Counted from that day, the 14th day is Sunday 22 November.
Did the Election Change National Government?
No. The vote chose city and town councils, and the ANC and the DA still share the national government.
Sources: Electoral Commission of South Africa, 2026 local government elections results dashboard, read 10 November 2026; Electoral Commission of South Africa, declaration of the 2026 local elections, 8 November 2026; Local Government: Municipal Structures Act 117 of 1998, sections 29 and 55; Polymarket, Next Mayor of Johannesburg market, read 10 November, 9:49 a.m. ET.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error
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