Ba-Phalaborwa is hung: ANC on 17 of 37 after a coin toss settled Ward 5

Ba-Phalaborwa, the Limpopo municipality around Phalaborwa and Namakgale, has a hung council. With all 97 voting districts counted, the ANC has 17 of the 37 seats, two short of the 19 needed to govern alone (ESP).

The ANC won 17 of the 19 wards, including Ward 5, which was settled by a coin toss after a tie. The DA won the other two. The ANC's share of the ward vote fell to 43.2% from 59.5% in 2021 (ESP).

Who won how many seats?

Source: The People's Register (IEC allocation dated 8 November 2026 at 12:46 SAST), matching ESP and Counted.

In 2021 the ANC held 24 of the 37 seats, with the EFF on 5 and the DA on 4 (Counted 2021).

Turnout was 50.2% of 91,015 registered voters, with 44,599 valid ward votes (ESP).

How did the ward vote split?

Source: ESP, using IEC data.

What happened in Ward 5?

The ANC and ActionSA each got 630 votes on the Ward 5 ballot, out of 1,775 valid votes. The DA was third with 187 (ESP Ward 5).

Under item 8 of Schedule 1 of the Municipal Structures Act, a tie between ward candidates is decided by lot (Municipal Structures Act). Limpopo's provincial electoral officer, Nkaro Mateta, said both candidates are called in, the rule is explained, they sign to show they understand, and they get to inspect the coin before it is tossed (SABC News; Review Online).

Early reports were mixed. News24 reported on Saturday that ActionSA won the toss. SABC News reported that the ANC won it, and the IEC seat allocation shows the ward going to the ANC's candidate (ESP Ward 5; The People's Register).

ActionSA's Limpopo chairperson, Victor Mothemela, told SABC News the party was not told formally when or where the toss would happen, but said ActionSA would not challenge the result (SABC News).

That one coin flip mattered. Had the ward gone to ActionSA, the ANC would have had 16 seats, three short of a majority.

What would it take to reach 19 seats?

This is seat arithmetic, not a prediction. No coalition had been announced in the sources used here.

Source: seat totals from The People's Register.

The other seven parties together hold 20 seats, so a majority without the ANC is possible only if every one of them backs the same deal.

When will Ba-Phalaborwa get a mayor?

The IEC planned to announce the final national results on Sunday, 8 November, at 18:00 (eNCA). After a council's result is declared, the Municipal Structures Act gives 14 days for the first council meeting, where councillors elect the speaker and the mayor (Municipal Structures Act).

Seat figures above are the IEC's provisional allocation and can change until the result is formally declared. You can check them on the IEC results dashboard.