The ANC's share of the vote fell in all nine provinces, and it came first in six of them, down from eight in 2021

The African National Congress (ANC) had 30,8% of the vote in the 2026 local election, down from 45,6% in 2021, according to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). It was still the largest party, with the most votes and the most council seats: 3 282 of the 8 784 allocated by 8 November. The share of the Democratic Alliance (DA) rose to 24,6% from 21,7%, and the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party had 9,8% in its first local election.

The figures are from the IEC's results summaries: the national report printed at 18:10 on 8 November 2026, and the provincial reports printed on 7 and 8 November. By then 212 of the 213 councils had been declared; the last, Mnquma in the Eastern Cape, had all its votes counted. In the IEC's results files 41 seats were still to be allocated, 32 in Mnquma and 9 in King Sabata Dalindyebo, also in the Eastern Cape, and one voting district in Ray Nkonyeni, KwaZulu-Natal, had not reported. The shares count the ward and proportional representation (PR) ballots together, the measure the IEC's results dashboard uses: most voters cast two ballots, and both are counted. The third ballot, for district councils, is left out; it elects only part of each district council and is not cast in the metros. Changes are in percentage points.

Two provinces have a different leading party from 2021

Look for the panels where the first bar is not the ANC's, and for the gap between each ANC bar and its white tick, the party's 2021 share. Every panel uses the same scale.

Source: Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), Results Summary - All Ballots, national and provincial reports, Local Government Elections 2021 and 2026 (released 25 November 2021 to 11 May 2022, and 7 and 8 November 2026).

In 2021 the ANC came first in every province except the Western Cape, where the DA did; the DA had 54,0% there in 2026. The DA also came first in Gauteng, with 33,9%, up from 28,7%, and the MK party came first in KwaZulu-Natal with 34,3%. The ANC's share fell most in KwaZulu-Natal, from 41,4% to 20,3%, and least in the Western Cape, from 20,4% to 14,7%. In Limpopo it still had more than half the vote, 54,4%.

Nationally, the ANC's share fell by 14,8 points and the DA's rose by 2,9

The arrows show which parties gained share and which lost it, for every party with at least 1% of the national vote in either election. The longest arrow is the ANC's.

Source: Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), Results Summary - All Ballots, national level, Local Government Elections 2021 and 2026 (released 11 May 2022 and 8 November 2026).

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) also lost share, from 10,3% to 6,2%, and so did the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), from 5,6% to 4,7%. ActionSA's share rose from 2,3% to 5,7%. The South African Communist Party (SACP), which is not in the 2021 results, had 2,4%. In seats, the ANC won 3 282, down from 4 548; the DA 1 722, up from 1 497; and the MK party 799. The 41 seats not yet allocated are not in the 2026 totals.

The table gives every party with at least 0,5% of the national vote in either election. Seats are the party's ward and PR seats in all councils together. The full list, 519 parties with votes and the independent candidates, is below it.

Source: IEC, Results Summary - All Ballots, national level, Local Government Elections 2021 and 2026; seats from the IEC results dashboard files for each party (released 15 January 2022 and 8 November 2026). Seats 2026: the 8 784 seats allocated by 8 November; 41 were still to be allocated. The 2021 seats are from the dashboard file of January 2022 and the 2021 shares from the reports of May 2022, which differ slightly.

Turnout was 52,3%, up from 45,9% in 2021, which was held under Covid-19 rules. The IEC takes the larger of the ward and PR votes cast and divides it by the number of registered voters, plus a small number who voted although missing from their station's roll. It counted 29 785 103 valid ward and PR ballots together, up from 23 469 711.

Source: IEC, Voter Turnout report, national level, Local Government Elections 2021 and 2026 (released 11 May 2022 and 8 November 2026).

The EFF's share also fell in every province, and the DA's rose most in the Free State

Read each column down to see where a party gained or lost: purple cells are falls, orange cells rises. The grid covers the parties with at least 2% of the national vote in 2026.

Source: Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), Results Summary - All Ballots, provincial reports, Local Government Elections 2021 and 2026 (released 25 November 2021 to 11 May 2022, and 7 and 8 November 2026).

The EFF's largest fall was in KwaZulu-Natal, from 8,6% to 1,8%, and the IFP's share there fell from 24,2% to 20,1%. The DA's share fell slightly in the Western Cape and rose in the other eight provinces, most in the Free State, from 18,8% to 27,6%. ActionSA gained most in Gauteng, where it went from 9,4% to 16,9%. The Patriotic Alliance (PA) had 8,4% in the Northern Cape and 7,4% in the Western Cape, and the SACP came third in the Eastern Cape with 6,3%.

The tables give each province's result for every party with at least 0,5% there in 2026, with the change in points.

Source: IEC, Results Summary - All Ballots, provincial reports, Local Government Elections 2021 and 2026 (released 25 November 2021 to 11 May 2022, and 7 and 8 November 2026). "Not in 2021": the party is not in that province's 2021 results.

The DA won the most seats in five of the eight metros, up from one outright in 2021

Compare the two bars in each card: the top one is 2026 and the lower one 2021, and the dashed line marks more than half the seats. In 2021 the ANC won the most seats in six metros, the DA in Cape Town, and the two tied in Nelson Mandela Bay. In 2026 the ANC won the most in Buffalo City and Mangaung, and the MK party in eThekwini. Only in Cape Town did one party win more than half the seats, the DA with 133 of 235.

Source: Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), Seat Calculation Detail for each metro, Local Government Elections 2021 and 2026 (released 22 November 2021, 23 May 2022 for Cape Town, and 7 and 8 November 2026).

The five where the DA won the most seats are Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Cape Town and Nelson Mandela Bay. Johannesburg moved most: the DA's seats went from 71 to 91 and the ANC's from 91 to 63. In eThekwini the MK party won 86 of 223 seats, with the ANC down to 37 from 96, while in Mangaung the ANC won 35 of 101 seats and the DA 34.

Each metro's results post compares its 2026 votes, seats and turnout with the 2016 and 2021 local elections and the 2019 and 2024 national ballots. For how the IEC counts and allocates seats, see How to follow the local election count.