Gauteng holds up the count as IEC races to finish 2026 local election results
The Commission reports 91% national completion, with all Northern Cape municipalities finalised and Gauteng the slowest province at 75%.
The Electoral Commission has reached a 91% national result completion rate for the 2026 Local Government Elections as at 5pm on Friday, with Gauteng the furthest behind of the nine provinces at 75%.
Results have been finalised in 150 of the 213 municipalities, excluding the 44 District Councils. The Commission expects to receive a total of 66 073 result slips from 23 696 voting stations.
The provincial spread runs from the Northern Cape, where every municipality is complete, to Gauteng. The completion rates are Northern Cape 100%, Free State 98%, Eastern Cape 95%, Mpumalanga 95%, Western Cape 92%, KwaZulu-Natal 92%, North West 87%, Limpopo 86% and Gauteng 75%.
The Commission says the outstanding results are mostly in metropolitan municipal areas, where population density means there are more voting districts. It also noted that participation by contestants has produced longer ballots and result slips.
What remains outstanding is a question of when, not whether, on the Commission’s account. It says it is committed to finalising results as quickly as possible while safeguarding the accuracy, transparency and integrity of the electoral process, and it reminds all stakeholders that results remain provisional until all objections and verification processes have been concluded.
It has urged political parties, independent candidates, the media and the public to rely only on officially verified results published by the Commission.
The Commission also moved against claims circulating on social media about two wards in Emalahleni Local Municipality in Mpumalanga. It dismissed claims that results for Wards 4 and 23 were being withheld because ballots cast exceeded the number of registered voters, saying the official voter turnout in the cited wards is just over 50%, well below the registered voter population.
A second claim from the same source, that a municipal official voted four times, was described by the Commission as misleading. It said the voter went to the wrong voting district in her ward, was scanned there, and was then directed to her correct voting district.
Voting more than once is not possible in the 2026 Local Government Elections, the Commission said, because a voter may only cast a ballot in the voting district in which they are registered.
The Commission called on citizens to verify social media claims before sharing them, warning that spreading false information can breach the Electoral Code of Conduct and the associated Disinformation Code.
This report is based on the Commission’s published statement as carried by SAnews (South African Government News Agency) and not on the underlying result slips or objection records. Source: https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/iec-achieves-91-completion-rate-local-election-results
- Cape Town's opposition leader in council quits his seat 13 days before the election 2026-10-25
- Army sent to KwaZulu-Natal as asylum ruling unrest builds toward the 4 November vote 2026-10-27
- Ramaphosa sends 510 soldiers to KwaZulu-Natal as anti-immigration protests build before the 4 November vote 2026-10-27
- Police block March and March at Berea station as Moore Road march ends in a wall of officers 2026-10-27
- Ramaphosa sends 510 soldiers into KwaZulu-Natal to stop the violence 2026-10-27
- Police block March and March at Berea as Durban marchers demand action over motorcycle attack 2026-10-27
- Durban and Soweto burn as anti-migrant marches spread, Ramaphosa sends 510 soldiers to KwaZulu-Natal 2026-10-27
- March and March tells Durban crowd: don't vote ANC on November 4 2026-10-27
- How a protest march gets stopped: the interdict, the route and the right to march 2026-10-27
- 21 months of marching, then Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma tells Durban: vote out the ANC 2026-10-27
