The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has postponed the announcement of the 2026 local government election results to Sunday, citing ongoing objections and recounts. By Saturday afternoon, 99 % of national votes had been counted, and the IEC had received 197 objections by 3 p.m. that day. At a media briefing held at the National Results Operations Centre (NROC) in Midrand, IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya reported that 54 objections had been dismissed, eight withdrawn, and two upheld. He explained that the results remain provisional until all objections are resolved, noting that “provisional results may change as a consequence of the determination of an objection. In this regard, seats that are assigned in the provisional results may change because of the decision of the Commission in determining an objection.” During the briefing, the provisional national vote share was as follows: the African National Congress (ANC) led with 30.89 %, the Democratic Alliance (DA) followed at 24.58 %, the MK Party at 9.63 %, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) at 6.25 %, and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) at 5.68 %. The two upheld objections triggered an edit window and five ward recounts. The wards subject to recount are: City of Tshwane, Ward 57 – Village Montessori School City of Tshwane, Ward 102 – Patt Projects Mangaung Metro, Ward 19 – Ehrlich Park Fire Station Thaba Chweu Local Municipality, Ward 4 – Shalom Church Centre * Breede Valley Local Municipality, Ward 12 – Christian Light Ministries Moepya said the Commission would “spare no effort to finalise the objections before it announces the election results” and that it was focusing on objections that could materially affect the outcome. Political parties and independent candidates had until 5 p.m. on Friday to lodge objections. Results processing is complete in all municipalities of the Free State, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Limpopo. In Gauteng, processing remains outstanding in Emfuleni, Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni. In the North West, only Rustenburg is pending, while in KwaZulu‑Natal the remaining municipalities are Msunduzi and eThekwini. Moepya expects these to be finished by Saturday evening. The IEC has urged contesting parties, candidates, citizens and the media to remain patient as the Commission finalises the remaining processes. The official announcement of the 2026 local government election results is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Article source: The Independent Online | Image credit: The Independent Online