Parties crowd Midrand results centre as first 2026 local election counts land

Political parties are watching the first counts of the 2026 Local Government Elections come in from the Electoral Commission of South Africa’s national Results Operations Centre in Midrand, where party representatives gathered as preliminary results began arriving this morning.

Wednesday’s voting decided the contest for control of municipalities across the country, and parties are at the centre hoping for a strong showing.

The Commission registered approximately 29.2 million voters for these elections. Voting took place at 23,696 voting stations, with special voting held on Monday and Tuesday ahead of Election Day.

The IEC is due to brief the media at 10am.

This account is drawn from SAnews (South African Government News Agency), which reported on activity at the results centre rather than publishing the running counts themselves. The preliminary figures, ward-level outcomes and the final national picture will come from the Commission’s own declarations as they are released. SAnews’s report is at https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/parties-keep-close-watch-election-results-trickle.