In brief
President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed political parties on Sunday, urging them to prioritize service delivery over power struggles as coalition talks begin after the 2026 local elections. The African National Congress remains the largest party, holding 3,282 of 10,526 council seats, but 138 councils will need coalitions. Key questions about how parties will negotiate and which alliances will form remain unanswered.
At the Independent Electoral Commission’s Results Operations Center in Midrand, north of Johannesburg, President Cyril Ramaphosa urged South African political parties to put service delivery and community interests ahead of power bargains as coalition talks begin after the 2026 local elections. He cautioned that the scramble for positions should not undermine municipal stability or delay essential services for citizens.
Official election figures released by the IEC on Nov. 9 show that the African National Congress (ANC) remains the country’s largest party, with 30.76 % of the national vote and 3,282 of the 10,526 council seats. The Democratic Alliance (DA) came in second with 24.64 % of the vote and 1,722 seats, followed by the uMkhonto weSizwe party (MK Party) with 9.77 % and 799 seats, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) with 6.22 % and 592 seats, and ActionSA with 5.67 % and 320 seats. Other parties and independents together captured 22.94 % of the vote and secured representation across municipal councils.
Only 14.9 million voters turned out, a 52 % turnout up 6.1 percentage points from 2021. All 213 municipal councils were declared, with 10,526 council seats contested. The ANC won outright majorities in 53 municipalities and led in 128, while the DA secured outright majorities in 12 and led in 32. In total, 74 councils were won outright by a single party; the other 138 were hung, leaving no party with a clear majority and making coalition negotiations inevitable.
In Johannesburg’s 270‑seat municipal council, the DA emerged as the largest party with 91 seats, followed by the ANC with 63 and ActionSA with 43; no single party reached the 136‑seat threshold required for an outright majority.
Ramaphosa said the elections were a “resounding affirmation” of South Africa’s democratic institutions and the constitutional principle that all political authority belongs to the people. He cited the Freedom Charter’s foundational principle that “the people shall govern” and added,
"The authority to govern comes from the people. It is not inherited. It is not owned by any political group.">He called for unity to preserve municipal stability and emphasised that the priority must be to maintain service delivery to citizens, not to pursue personal or party gains.
The announcement comes as council governments face the task of negotiating among multiple parties. The results leave both the ANC and DA in a position to broker agreements with smaller parties in a number of councils, but no official coalition deals have yet been announced. Whether the ANC will retain control of its majority-mandated councils or will need to sit in a coalition with the DA or other partners remains unclear.
Consequently, observers note that the 138 hung councils will require new alliances, yet the specific configurations and policy agreements that will emerge are uncertain. The impact of these negotiations on service delivery timelines, budget allocations, and municipal accountability mechanisms has not yet been determined. The coalition pathways that parties will choose, and how they will reconcile divergent policy priorities, remain lingering questions in the post‑electoral landscape.
