86% counted: 95 hung councils so far. ANC 31.8%, DA 24%

As of about 15:46 on 6 November 2026, 86.4% of South Africa's 23,696 voting districts were counted. The Electoral Commission (IEC) had declared 147 of 213 municipal councils. Of those, 95 are hung (no party has a majority of seats) and 52 have a party with an outright majority.

Figures come from the IEC results feed as tracked by MzansiData. They are provisional until the IEC declares each council. The final national results process runs through to about 11 November 2026.

What is the national vote share so far?

The IEC's "overall support" combines ward and proportional-representation ballots across all councils counted so far. There is no single national winner in a local election. Each council is decided on its own.

Source: MzansiData from IEC results at 15:46 SAST on 6 November 2026.

An earlier mid-afternoon snapshot at about 83% counted showed a similar order of parties (SA Job Central live updates).

Why do hung councils matter for you?

A hung council means no party won more than half the seats. Parties then negotiate coalitions or confidence-and-supply deals to elect a speaker and mayor and pass a budget. That affects who runs your rates, water, refuse and local roads for the next term.

The Common Sense reported earlier on 6 November that with 117 councils declared, 82 were already hung, more than double the hung tally for those same municipalities in 2021. By mid-afternoon the hung count among declared councils had risen further to 95 of 147.

In 2021, 66 of 213 councils ended hung nationally (The Common Sense). Analysts there expect the 2026 total to land toward the high end of a 100 to 130 hung-council range once all 213 are declared.

Once a council is declared, parties typically have 14 days to elect a mayor in a hung council. See our explainer: Hung council after 4 November? Parties get 14 days to pick your mayor.

What are the metros showing?

Metro seat allocations only lock in once the IEC declares that metro. Vote-share leads reported in live round-ups on 6 November included:

Sources: SA Job Central and The Citizen live coverage. Treat metro figures as leads, not final seat maps, until the IEC declares each metro.

The Citizen also reported informal coalition talks already under way, including outreach described by DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis, and noted the Northern Cape had a high share of hung councils among declared municipalities.

When are results final, and can you still object?

• Count progress: more than four in five voting districts are already captured. Remaining councils will keep flipping from "counting" to "declared" through the weekend.
• Objections: section 65 objections to a declared result have tight deadlines (often by 17:00 on the second day after voting day, which for most wards is 17:00 on 6 November 2026). Check the IEC process if you believe a specific declared ward result is wrong: How to object to an election result.
• National wrap: the IEC's results announcement window runs to about 11 November 2026. Follow the live board at results.elections.org.za or our guide: Where to follow 2026 local election results live.

Turnout context from The Citizen: about 15.9 million ballots were cast from 29.2 million registered voters (roughly 54%), higher than the 45.86% turnout in the 2021 local elections.

What should you do now?

1. Look up your municipality on the IEC dashboard or MzansiData council finder to see if it is declared, hung, or still counting.
2. If your council is hung, watch party statements on coalitions. Your mayor and mayoral committee are chosen after those talks, not on election night.
3. For rates and service changes, wait for the new council's budget process. Seat counts do not by themselves change your tariff overnight.

Numbers will keep moving until every voting district is captured and every council is declared. Refresh the IEC dashboard for the latest seat tables rather than relying on any single afternoon snapshot.