# South Africa Counts Local Election Votes as ANC and DA Remain Close in Early Returns

> MKNIRALO — World — SOUTH AFRICA | ELECTION COUNT

- Published: 2026-11-05
- Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
- Byline: Elena — Civic Life & Humanitarian Affairs Observer
- Byline disclosure: Elena is a house editorial byline maintained by MKNIRALO, not a claim of an independently verified individual. It does not imply eyewitness reporting, legal professional credentials or humanitarian field access. Reporting draws on dated original documents and attributed independent coverage.
- Author profile: https://mkniralo.com/authors/elena/
- Tags: South Africa, Local Elections, IEC, ANC, Democratic Alliance, Vote Counting, Municipal Councils, Election Results
- Cover image: https://mkniralo.com/images/south-africa-local-elections-early-count-november-2026.svg

Early November 5 returns put the ANC just ahead of the DA, but only about 12% of votes had been counted in one documented snapshot. The IEC’s ward, municipality and council tallies are not interchangeable.

Counting continued a day after South Africa voted in local government elections on November 4. The first widely reported figures showed a narrow gap between the ANC and DA, but the sample was small and the map of reporting areas incomplete. The crucial distinction is between an early party share, a reporting ward, a completed municipal result and a formally declared council. None can be substituted for another.

## Early numbers have a timestamp, not a mandate

South Africa began publishing partial results from its November 4 local government elections on Thursday, November 5, with counting still far from complete. Reuters reported that at approximately 04:24 GMT—06:24 South African Standard Time—about 12% of votes had been counted. In that early count, the African National Congress (ANC) had about 32% and the Democratic Alliance (DA) about 31%. The figures represent a particular preliminary window, not a final national vote share or a certified result.

The national percentages can move substantially as more voting districts report. Reuters noted that relatively few returns had yet come from populous Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, including some of the country’s biggest municipal contests. A close early national tally can therefore coexist with very different outcomes in individual towns and cities. It would be misleading to describe the ANC as having won the election, the DA as having caught up everywhere, or a coalition outcome as settled.

Sources:
- [ANC narrowly leads DA in early South Africa municipal election results](https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-africas-anc-32-vote-with-12-votes-counted-municipal-election-2026-11-05/) — Reuters

## Counting is not the same as declaring council control

The local elections are not one national race. The IEC’s certified candidate material identifies eight metropolitan municipalities, 205 local municipalities and 44 district municipalities: 257 councils in all. The number 213 sometimes used in coverage refers to the eight metros plus 205 local municipalities, excluding the 44 district councils. Those counts describe different categories, not contradictory election totals.

There are also 4,485 wards in the certified election lists. A ward result is not the same thing as the full outcome for a municipality, and the percentage of wards with some returns is not interchangeable with the share of votes counted nationwide. Councils are made up through ward and proportional-representation processes, while district-council membership also follows a separate formation procedure. A nationwide party share cannot be directly translated into the number of councils each party will control.

Sources:
- [Electoral Commission certifies 136,790 candidates to contest 2026 local government elections](https://www.gov.za/news/media-statements/electoral-commission-certifies-136-790-candidates-contest-2026-local) — Electoral Commission of South Africa via gov.za
- [How results are declared](https://www.elections.org.za/content/Documents/Voter-education/Continuous-Voter-Education/IEC-Factsheet--Counting/) — Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC)

## Why the election commission checks results before declaring them

The IEC’s public counting guidance describes how officials reconcile ballots, sign results slips, and send the records to local electoral offices for scanning and capture in the results system. Independent external auditors verify the captured results. Political party agents and independent candidates’ representatives can scrutinise the process and raise objections. The stages are designed to distinguish a ballot counted at a station from an official declared outcome.

The IEC states that final results and seat allocations for metropolitan and local councils are to be announced within seven days of election day. That is a procedural deadline, not a promise that every early table or party percentage will remain unchanged. Once seat allocations are known, negotiations may still be needed in councils where no party obtains a majority.

Sources:
- [ANC narrowly leads DA in early South Africa municipal election results](https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-africas-anc-32-vote-with-12-votes-counted-municipal-election-2026-11-05/) — Reuters
- [How results are declared](https://www.elections.org.za/content/Documents/Voter-education/Continuous-Voter-Education/IEC-Factsheet--Counting/) — Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC)
- [Independent Electoral Commission gives update readiness for 2026 Local Government Elections](https://www.gov.za/news/media-statements/independent-electoral-commission-gives-update-readiness-2026-local-government) — IEC via South African Government

## The November 4 voting process and special ballots

The IEC held the main vote on November 4, following special voting on November 2 and 3 for eligible voters unable to vote normally on election day. According to an IEC update carried by SAnews, 1,425,942 people were preliminarily recorded as having cast special votes during the two days. Those ballots were secured and counted with election-day ballots after polling stations closed; special-vote applications and ballots actually cast are distinct figures.

On election day, the IEC said 98% of 23,696 voting stations had opened by 07:00. Its 10:00 preliminary update put the number of people who had voted at 3,523,691 nationwide. Those figures describe turnout activity at an earlier point in the day, not the final number of votes cast, much less the verified results that voters are now watching.

Sources:
- [Electoral Commission welcomes announcement of 4 November 2026 as Local Government Elections date](https://www.elections.org.za/pw/News-And-Media/News-List/News/News-Article/Electoral-Commission-welcomes-announcement-of-4-November-2026-as-Local-Government-Elections-date?a=AISDGvpz75ps1usOfX7oijDmyJafW5sb%2Fd+cisS2zzc%3D) — Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC)
- [Smooth start to 2026 Local Government Elections](https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/smooth-start-2026-local-government-elections) — SAnews (reporting IEC Deputy Chief Electoral Officer)
- [Day 2 of special votes concludes](https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/day-2-special-votes-concludes) — SAnews (reporting IEC)

## Projections are separate from the count

Reuters reported a projection from South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) suggesting that the ANC might finish near 32% and the DA closer to 26%, using returns from about 11.5% of voting districts. This was a forecast based on a model, whereas the roughly 32%-to-31% figures cited earlier were an observed partial tally at a specified time.

A projection may offer context as results arrive, but it is not an official allocation of council seats. Analysts can revise their estimates as the sample of reporting areas changes. For readers following the count, the essential questions are which units have reported, what kind of measure is being displayed, and when that number was captured.

Sources:
- [ANC narrowly leads DA in early South Africa municipal election results](https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-africas-anc-32-vote-with-12-votes-counted-municipal-election-2026-11-05/) — Reuters

## What readers can safely conclude on November 5

The verified picture on Thursday is that South Africans have voted, early results show a narrow gap between the two largest parties in the initial reported national vote share, and many local outcomes are not yet known. Reuters reported that several major municipalities, including Johannesburg, were expected to lack clear majorities, but that expectation is not the same as a completed council result. Negotiations will be possible only against actual seat allocations.

The decisive figures are those formally released and audited by the IEC, council by council. Until the count is complete, every percentage should carry a timestamp and the size of the count behind it. This is a counting update, not a verdict on political accountability, future coalitions or a final forecast of South Africa’s electoral landscape.

Sources:
- [ANC narrowly leads DA in early South Africa municipal election results](https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-africas-anc-32-vote-with-12-votes-counted-municipal-election-2026-11-05/) — Reuters
- [How results are declared](https://www.elections.org.za/content/Documents/Voter-education/Continuous-Voter-Education/IEC-Factsheet--Counting/) — Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC)

## About this article

This article reflects the public sources available on the publication and update dates shown above. For developing stories, follow the linked source pages for subsequent statements or decisions.

## Sources and further reading

- [ANC narrowly leads DA in early South Africa municipal election results](https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-africas-anc-32-vote-with-12-votes-counted-municipal-election-2026-11-05/) — Reuters (published 2026-11-05) (accessed 2026-11-05)
- [Electoral Commission welcomes announcement of 4 November 2026 as Local Government Elections date](https://www.elections.org.za/pw/News-And-Media/News-List/News/News-Article/Electoral-Commission-welcomes-announcement-of-4-November-2026-as-Local-Government-Elections-date?a=AISDGvpz75ps1usOfX7oijDmyJafW5sb%2Fd+cisS2zzc%3D) — Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) (published 2026-04-30) (accessed 2026-11-05)
- [Electoral Commission certifies 136,790 candidates to contest 2026 local government elections](https://www.gov.za/news/media-statements/electoral-commission-certifies-136-790-candidates-contest-2026-local) — Electoral Commission of South Africa via gov.za (published 2026-09-25) (accessed 2026-11-05)
- [How results are declared](https://www.elections.org.za/content/Documents/Voter-education/Continuous-Voter-Education/IEC-Factsheet--Counting/) — Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) (published 2016) (accessed 2026-11-05)
- [Smooth start to 2026 Local Government Elections](https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/smooth-start-2026-local-government-elections) — SAnews (reporting IEC Deputy Chief Electoral Officer) (published 2026-11-04) (accessed 2026-11-05)
- [Day 2 of special votes concludes](https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/day-2-special-votes-concludes) — SAnews (reporting IEC) (published 2026-11-03) (accessed 2026-11-05)
- [Independent Electoral Commission gives update readiness for 2026 Local Government Elections](https://www.gov.za/news/media-statements/independent-electoral-commission-gives-update-readiness-2026-local-government) — IEC via South African Government (published 2026-10-14) (accessed 2026-11-05)