2026 Elections Final Results Prediction: ANC and EFF decline, DA and VF Plus improve, ActionSA is the biggest winner
The latest 2026 local government election results showed that the DA achieved strong support across South Africa’s metros, while the ANC’s share of the vote plummeted.
South Africa’s local government elections took place between Monday, 2 November 2026, and Wednesday, 4 November 2026.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) said that 15.9 million South Africans have voted at 23,696 voting stations countrywide.
With most of the votes counted and 98% of voting districts having reported their results, the African National Congress (ANC) was the biggest loser.
The latest IEC results showed that it captured 31% of the vote, a 15% decline from the 46% it achieved in the 2021 local government elections.
The DA is sitting at 24.6%, up from 21.7% five years ago. This is a good showing by South Africa’s second-largest party.
Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) will finish third with 9.6% of the vote, ahead of the EFF with 6%.
ActionSA, led by Herman Mashaba, was the biggest winner in the 2026 local government elections, capturing over 5% of the vote.
However, this does not tell the full story. Its strong performance across Gauteng will make ActionSA one of the most important players in coalition talks.
“The people have spoken, and ActionSA is making its mark. South Africans, this victory is yours. The momentum is undeniable, and we’re just getting started,” Mashaba said.
He added that ActionSA is fast becoming a political party with an official national footprint, which will further drive its growth.
The table below shows the current 2026 local government election results and compares them with the parties’ performance in 2021.
| Party | 2026 LGE | 2021 LGE | Change |
| ANC | 30.96% | 45.59% | -14.63pp |
| DA | 24.55% | 21.66% | +2.89pp |
| MK | 9.63% | — | — |
| EFF | 6.25% | 10.31% | -4.06pp |
| ActionSA | 5.58% | 2.33% | +3.25pp |
| IFP | 4.73% | 5.64% | -0.91pp |
| VF Plus | 3.02% | 2.34% | +0.68pp |
| SACP | 2.40% | — | — |
| PA | 1.95% | 0.97% | +0.98pp |
South Africa’s large cities were the biggest battlegrounds
South Africa’s large cities were the most important battlegrounds in the 2026 local government election results.
Here, the DA dominated, and ActionSA achieved very good results. This is also where the ANC lost most of its support.
Persistent service delivery problems, corruption, and mismanagement saw voters punish the ANC, which governs most of these cities.
The latest results show that the DA will get the largest share of the vote in most major metros, including Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, Tshwane, and Nelson Mandela Bay.
It also achieved an outright majority in Cape Town, which means that DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis will remain mayor of the city.
Apart from Cape Town, there is no party which achieved an outright majority in any South African metro.
This means there will need to be coalition talks to establish local governments in these metropolitan municipalities.
DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis said that they would like to bring parties together around a shared programme of good government for all.
“We seek partners committed to bringing integrity to local government, stable government, and zero tolerance for corruption,” he said.
“We also want merit-based appointments, sound financial management and measurable improvements in basic services for all residents.”
“These principles must apply equally to the DA and to every partner in a government we lead.”
Hill-Lewis said they will not conduct these negotiations through the media and will publish their coalition agreements publicly once concluded.
The charts below, courtesy of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), show the predicted results in the major metros.
The CSIR’s results forecast model uses samples from the official early results to predict the remaining results.
In the past, the CSIR’s early predictions were within 1 to 3 percentage points of the final national support levels for most leading parties.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) will announce the official results of the 2026 Local Government Elections only on Sunday, 8 November 2026.
CSIR Johannesburg prediction
CSIR Cape Town prediction
CSIR Ekurhuleni prediction
CSIR Tshwane prediction
CSIR Mangaung prediction
CSIR Buffalo City prediction
CSIR Nelson Mandela Bay prediction
CSIR eThekwini prediction
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