South Africans vote on Wednesday in local government elections that are widely seen as a verdict on the African National Congress (ANC). The South Africa local elections 2026 will determine councils that run water, electricity and sanitation services for the country’s 29.2 million registered voters, according to allAfrica.
Voting takes place at 23,696 voting stations and runs from 07:00 to 21:00. Wednesday has been declared a public holiday, and 1,425,942 special votes were cast on 2 and 3 November, according to allAfrica.
Voters are electing councils for eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district municipalities and 205 local municipalities. There are 136,790 candidates competing for 10,526 seats, according to allAfrica.
The ANC fell below 50 percent in municipal polls for the first time in 2021 and lost its parliamentary majority in the 2024 national election, according to Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera reports that polls suggest the party’s support could drop below 40 percent in this election.
Johannesburg is the largest prize. The Democratic Alliance (DA) has fielded former leader Helen Zille there, and a News24 poll put her at 36 percent, according to Al Jazeera.
Police said 21 election-related cases have been recorded since Sunday. KwaZulu-Natal has 165 voting stations classed as high risk, according to Al Jazeera.
Turnout has been a concern in earlier contests. Only 46 percent of registered voters took part in the 2021 municipal elections, according to Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera also reports, citing the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, that 74 of 257 municipalities were run by coalitions or minority administrations as of February. Africanews reports that voters are concerned about unemployment, crime, water shortages and basic service delivery.
Final results are expected on Sunday, according to Al Jazeera. The outcome is likely to lead to coalition negotiations, with the ANC possibly working with smaller parties. It will also shape the race to succeed President Cyril Ramaphosa as ANC leader at the party’s December 2027 conference.
Several details rely on a single outlet. The polling figures, including the News24 poll, have not been independently confirmed. The ANC and the DA had not responded to the polling and campaign claims in the sources, and no results were available at the time of reporting.
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This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.