Government

Middelburg is hung: ANC 19, DA 16 in Steve Tshwete's 58-seat council

Steve Tshwete (Middelburg and Hendrina) has a hung council. The ANC won 19 of 58 seats and the DA 16, though the DA got more ward votes. 30 seats are needed to govern. Full seat and vote tables.

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

Steve Tshwete, the Mpumalanga municipality that covers Middelburg and Hendrina, has a hung council. With all 71 voting districts counted, the ANC has 19 of the 58 seats and the DA has 16. A party needs 30 to govern alone (ESP; The People's Register).

The DA got the most ward votes, 30.9% against the ANC's 25.8%, but the ANC won more wards (19 of 29), so it ends up with more seats (ESP). The Middelburg Observer reported on Saturday that the result has started coalition talks.

Who won how many seats?

PartyWard seatsPR seatsTotal
ANC19019
DA8816
MK Party055
EFF134
Freedom Front Plus033
ActionSA022
Service Delivery Party022
Hope of Residents022
SACP101
Middelburg and Hendrina Residents Front011
United Africans Transformation011
Hendrina United Community Development011
Amalgamated Steve Tshwete011

Source: ESP, using IEC data, matching The People's Register (IEC allocation dated 8 November 2026 at 13:31 SAST) and Counted.

The SACP's one seat is Ward 17, which it won on a coin toss after a 966-966 tie with the ANC.

In 2021 the ANC had 21 seats, the DA 17, the EFF 9 and the Middelburg and Hendrina Residents Front 7, in a council of the same size (Counted 2021). The residents' front has dropped to one seat, and the MK Party is new on the council with five.

Turnout was 53.4% of about 122,000 registered voters, with 64,258 valid ward votes (ESP).

How did the ward vote split?

PartyWard votesShare
DA19,86630.9%
ANC16,56025.8%
MK Party5,5738.7%
EFF4,6187.2%
Freedom Front Plus3,8866.0%
Service Delivery Party2,4343.8%

Source: ESP. The DA's ward share rose from 28.3% in 2021.

What would it take to reach 30 seats?

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

CombinationSeats
ANC + DA35
ANC + MK Party + EFF + SACP29
DA + every party except the ANC, MK Party, EFF and SACP29
ANC + MK Party + EFF + SACP + any one-seat party30

Source: seat totals from The People's Register.

The only two-party deal that clears 30 is ANC plus DA. Any other route needs at least five parties, and both of the obvious blocs land one seat short, which gives the one- and two-seat local parties real bargaining power.

When will Middelburg 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).

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

FAQ

Is Steve Tshwete a hung council after the 2026 election?

Yes. With all 71 voting districts counted, the ANC has 19 of 58 seats and the DA 16. A party needs 30 to govern alone. The figures are provisional until the IEC formally declares the result.

Why does the ANC have more seats if the DA got more votes in Steve Tshwete?

The DA got 30.9% of the ward vote and the ANC 25.8%, but the ANC won 19 of the 29 wards. Ward wins count towards each party's seats, so the ANC ends up with 19 seats to the DA's 16.

Which parties could form a majority in Steve Tshwete?

ANC plus DA gives 35 seats. Without that pairing, any majority needs at least five parties. No coalition had been announced in the sources used here.

When will Steve Tshwete elect a mayor?

After the result is declared, the first council meeting must be held within 14 days. Councillors elect the speaker and mayor at that meeting.

Sources