Vote counting in South Africa’s 2026 Local Government Elections has passed the 26% mark, with the African National Congress (ANC) holding the lead nationally, while the Democratic Alliance (DA) maintains its advantage in Gauteng.
According to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) results dashboard, 6,396 of the country’s 23,696 voting districts had reported by 10:40am, representing 26% of districts.
On the national ward ballot, the ANC had received 1,777,681 votes, representing 32.9% of valid votes counted. The DA followed with 1,585,587 votes, or 28.62%.
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) stood at 6.12%, followed by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) at 5.43%, the Patriotic Alliance (PA) at 4.07%, the Freedom Front Plus at 4.06%, and ActionSA at 2.99%.
The figures represent 2,644,689 valid ward-ballot votes counted nationally and do not constitute final election results.
These numbers provide an early indication of party support in reported voting districts. However, because counting is progressing at different rates across provinces and municipalities, national percentages could change substantially as outstanding results are captured and verified.
In Gauteng, the DA remained ahead with 37.04%, followed by the ANC with 20.42% and ActionSA with 15.53%.
The Freedom Front Plus recorded 6.54%, while the EFF stood at 6.11% and the MK Party at 4.27%.
The provincial figures, recorded at approximately 10:40am, with no municipality in the province ha cvingompleted counting at that stage.
For residents of Orange Farm, Lenasia South, Ennerdale, Lawley, Finetown and surrounding communities, attention now turns to the results of individual ward contests.
In Orange Farm, Wards 1 to 6 and Ward 131 remain important areas to monitor, alongside Wards 7, 8, 9, 120, 121 and 122 in Johannesburg’s broader southern corridor.
Early Johannesburg results showed the DA leading, but counting remained incomplete, with no confirmed final results available in the reviewed figures for these individual Deep South wards.
The eventual outcome will determine which councillors represent residents facing persistent challenges involving water supply, electricity outages, deteriorating roads, sanitation, housing and municipal accountability.
With nearly three-quarters of voting districts still outstanding at the 10:40am snapshot, the final distribution of municipal council seats remains uncertain.
The counting process will determine directly elected ward councillors and the allocation of proportional representation seats. In municipalities where no party secures an outright majority, coalition negotiations may be necessary to establish a governing administration.
For Johannesburg residents, the election represents more than a contest between political parties. It will determine who is responsible for representing communities and holding the municipality accountable for service delivery over the next five years.
As the IEC continues capturing and verifying votes, attention will increasingly shift from national party standings to the individual ward contests that will shape local representation.
Globe Post and Orange Farm News will continue monitoring election results across Johannesburg’s southern wards, including any changes in political representation and the implications for service delivery.
Source: IEC Election Results Dashboard — https://results.elections.org.za/dashboards/lge/
Editor’s note: Results are provisional and reflect available figures on Thursday morning, 5 November 2026. The national and Gauteng figures were recorded at slightly different times. The percentage counted refers to voting districts reporting, rather than the proportion of all ballots counted.
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