Victor Khanye hung: SDP leads with 7 of 17 seats

Provisional IEC figures show a hung council in Victor Khanye Local Municipality (Delmas / Botleng, Nkangala, Mpumalanga): the Service Delivery Party (SDP) is the largest party with 7 of 17 seats, two short of the 9 seats needed to govern alone (The Outlier, update 19:08 Africa/Johannesburg on 6 November 2026; ESP Victor Khanye results from IEC data; Rateweb Victor Khanye results).

Treat seats as provisional until the IEC formally declares the council. All 9 wards and 30 voting districts are in on the ESP and Rateweb reads of the IEC count.

What is the Victor Khanye seat split?

Source: ESP Victor Khanye seat table (IEC data) for ward and PR seats; The Outlier shows the same SDP 7, ANC 5, DA 2, OLH 2 and VF Plus 1 split; Rateweb lists SDP, ANC and DA vote shares with the count complete.

Did the SDP win an outright majority?

No. "Largest party" is not the same as a majority. The SDP has 7 seats. A majority on this council needs 9. The council is hung, so parties must negotiate a coalition or a minority arrangement before they can elect a mayor (Municipal Structures Act; Reported's hung council explainer).

SABC News described the SDP as the majority party in Victor Khanye after about 39% of the vote and 7 seats, meaning the largest party while counting was still under way earlier on 6 November. The completed seat maths still leave it two short of 9.

How did the wards fall?

On ESP's ward ballot reading of IEC results, the SDP took about 39.8% of ward votes (9,812 of 24,654 valid ward ballots), ahead of the ANC on 28.2% and the DA on 9.8%. Our Last Hope took about 9.1% of the ward ballot but won no ward seat; its two seats come from the PR list.

Ward winners on the ESP map:

Turnout on ESP's calculation is about 61.2% of 41,002 registered voters (IEC published turnout for the municipality is listed as about 61.7%).

What changed from 2021?

In 2021 the ANC held an outright majority in Victor Khanye with 9 of 17 seats, with African Voice Progressive Party and the DA on 3 each, plus the EFF and FF Plus on 1 each (Inkmark 2021 seat summary). The ANC's share of the combined ward and PR vote had already fallen from 75.1% in 2011 to 52.3% in 2021 on that Inkmark series.

The SDP did not appear on the 2021 council. Inkmark's 2026 party list lists it as a new contestant. SABC called it newly formed and said it had taken about 15 council seats across Mpumalanga while provincial counting was still incomplete earlier on Friday.

What happens next for residents?

No party can elect a mayor alone. The first council meeting must be held within 14 days after the IEC declares the council elected (Municipal Structures Act). Until a mayor and executive are in place, day-to-day municipal administration continues under existing arrangements, but budget and political control of the council wait on a deal.

How do I check Victor Khanye or my own council?

• IEC results dashboard
• The Outlier: Victor Khanye
• ESP: Victor Khanye
• Rateweb: Victor Khanye