Johannesburg – South Africans will have to wait until the weekend for the official outcome of the 2026 local government elections, despite the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) confirming that most, if not all, ballot counting has been completed.
According to the Citizen, the remaining work involves the collation, capturing, verification and auditing of results, as well as resolving objections before the IEC can formally declare the outcome.
IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya clarified that reports suggesting only a portion of the ballots had been counted were misleading.
“I saw a little scroller saying we have counted about 40%. Most of the counting, if not all of it, is completed,” Moepya said, according to IOL.
“What we are doing, you know, is the process of collating and capturing those results into the results system. It’s not like 60% of the country continuing to count,” he added.
Objections
By 5pm on Thursday, more than 60% of the 66,073 expected results had been captured, while about 40,202 result slips had been scanned. The IEC said 32,238 had undergone independent auditing as part of its verification and quality-assurance procedures.
The IEC’s process requires results from voting stations to be reconciled and captured before they are verified and independently audited. Results displayed at voting stations remain provisional until the commission formally declares them.
A further reason for the delay is the objections process. SABC reported that contestants had until 17:00 on Friday to submit objections that could materially affect election outcomes.
IEC deputy chief electoral officer Masego Sheburi said the commission could not declare the final results before that deadline.
“The Commission does not want to keep the country in angst and for that reason, it will release the result as soon as all objections have been dealt with,” Sheburi said.
The IEC has also reported more than 800 complaints from contestants, although the majority had been resolved by Thursday, with about 106 still open.
Final declaration
Under South Africa’s Electoral Act, the IEC must declare an election result within seven days of voting day, but not before 21:00 on the second day after voting and before all relevant objections have been dealt with.
The Daily Maverick reported that the final declaration is currently expected on Sunday, 8 November, although the IEC could release the results sooner if the outstanding processes are completed.
The IEC has urged political parties, candidates and the public to treat results currently appearing online and at voting stations as provisional and to rely on officially verified figures.
The 2026 elections are particularly significant, with early results pointing to a sharply reduced ANC vote share and strong performances by opposition parties in several major municipalities. Reuters reported that the ANC was polling at about 32% with a substantial portion of votes counted, while the DA was also performing strongly.
The final results will determine the composition of South Africa’s municipal councils and could trigger coalition negotiations in municipalities where no party secures an outright majority.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
