Government8 November 2026

Lephalale council is hung: ANC 2 seats short with 14 of 30

Lephalale (Ellisras) in Limpopo's Waterberg District has a hung council. With all 84 voting districts counted, the ANC has 14 of 30 seats, two short of the 16 needed to govern alone. The DA has 5, the SACP and EFF 3 each. Final results are due Sunday at 18:00.

By Reported Team

IEC voting booths and ballot box set up inside a South African voting station — Photo: warrenski via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Lephalale, the Waterberg municipality in Limpopo that includes the town once called Ellisras, has a hung council. With all 84 voting districts counted, the ANC has 14 of the 30 seats, two short of the 16 needed to govern alone (ESP).

The ANC won 12 of the 15 wards, and the DA won the other three (wards 3, 4 and 15). The ANC's share of the ward vote fell to 45.8% from 53.3% in 2021, according to IEC data on ESP.

IEC provincial electoral officer Nkaro Mateta confirmed on Friday that Lephalale is among the Waterberg councils with no outright majority (Review Online).

Who won how many seats?

Party	Ward seats	PR seats	Total
ANC	12	2	14
DA	3	2	5
SACP	0	3	3
EFF	0	3	3
Lephalale New Generation Movement	0	2	2
Freedom Front Plus	0	1	1
African Transformation Movement	0	1	1
On the Move	0	1	1

Source: ESP, using IEC data, matching The People's Register (IEC allocation dated 8 November 2026 at 12:26 SAST) and Counted.

In 2021 the ANC held 19 of 29 seats, enough to govern alone. The council now has 30 seats (Counted).

Turnout was 48.9% of about 76,874 registered voters, with 36,643 valid ward votes (ESP).

How did the ward vote split?

Party	Ward votes	Share
ANC	16,786	45.8%
DA	6,314	17.2%
SACP	3,886	10.6%
EFF	3,578	9.8%
Lephalale New Generation Movement	2,150	5.9%
Freedom Front Plus	1,237	3.4%

Source: ESP.

What would it take to reach 16 seats?

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

Combination	Seats
ANC + DA	19
ANC + SACP	17
ANC + EFF	17
ANC + Lephalale New Generation Movement	16
ANC + any two of Freedom Front Plus, the African Transformation Movement or On the Move	16
All seven other parties together	16

Because the ANC is two seats short, support from one of the larger partners above, or from any two of the one-seat parties, would reach a majority. A government without the ANC would need all seven other parties to vote together.

When will Lephalale get a mayor?

The results are still provisional. The IEC plans to announce the final 2026 local election results at 18:00 on Sunday, 8 November (eNCA), and seat allocations can still change if objections are upheld (IOL).

Once the council is declared, the municipal manager must call the first council meeting within 14 days, where councillors elect a speaker and mayor (Municipal Structures Act; Reported: what happens in a hung council).

How to check your ward result

Use the IEC's results dashboard and search for Lephalale (LIM362). Ward-by-ward results are also on ESP and The People's Register. Only the IEC's declaration is final.

FAQ

Is Lephalale a hung council after the 2026 election?

Yes. With all 84 voting districts counted, the ANC has 14 of 30 seats and needs 16 to govern alone. The IEC declares final results on Sunday 8 November at 18:00.

How many seats did each party win in Lephalale?

ANC 14, DA 5, SACP 3, EFF 3, Lephalale New Generation Movement 2, and one each for Freedom Front Plus, the African Transformation Movement and On the Move.

Which parties could give the ANC a majority in Lephalale?

The ANC is two seats short, so a deal with the DA, SACP, EFF or Lephalale New Generation Movement would reach at least 16 seats, as would support from any two of the one-seat parties. No coalition had been announced in the sources used here.

When will Lephalale elect a mayor?

After the IEC declares the result, the municipal manager must call the first council meeting within 14 days, where the speaker and mayor are elected.