South Africa has three spheres of government (Constitution s.40). Each of the nine provinces elects a legislature on the same day as the National Assembly, and the legislature elects the Premier. Below them, every square metre of the country lies in a municipality: eight metropolitan councils govern the largest cities alone; elsewhere 205 local municipalities share power with 44 district councils.
Provinces · elected 29 May 2024
Nine legislatures, nine Premiers.
Provinces by the Premier's party (faded: no single-party majority) · Boundaries: Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB), simplified (2026)
Legislatures have between 30 and 80 members (s.105), set by the IEC from each province's population; the Western Cape's 42 is fixed by its own constitution. Seats are shared among party lists in proportion to the provincial ballot. Ruling parties and coalitions are as formed after the 2024 elections.
OM
Eastern Cape
Premier Oscar Mabuyane · ANC
ANC 45 · DA 11 · EFF 8 · UDM 3 · PA 2 · ATM 1 · MK 1 · VF+ 1 of 72
African National Congress majority: 45 of 72 seats.
Turnout 52,7% · 3 438 924 registered
ML
Free State
Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae · ANC
ANC 16 · DA 7 · EFF 4 · VF+ 1 · MK 1 · African Congress for Transformation 1 of 30
African National Congress majority: 16 of 30 seats.
No majority. The ANC formed a minority executive in July 2024 with one MEC each from the PA, IFP and Rise Mzansi; the DA stayed in opposition.
Turnout 60,6% · 6 541 978 registered
KwaZulu-Natal
Premier Thami Ntuli · IFP
MK 37 · IFP 15 · ANC 14 · DA 11 · EFF 2 · NFP 1 of 80
No majority. The MK party is the largest; the Premier heads a coalition of the IFP, ANC, DA and NFP (41 of 80 seats).
Turnout 61,8% · 5 738 249 registered
Limpopo
Premier Phophi Ramathuba · ANC
ANC 48 · EFF 9 · DA 4 · VF+ 1 · MK 1 · UAT 1 of 64
African National Congress majority: 48 of 64 seats.
Turnout 51,4% · 2 779 657 registered
Mpumalanga
Premier Mandla Ndlovu · ANC
ANC 27 · MK 9 · EFF 7 · DA 6 · VF+ 1 · ActionSA 1 of 51
African National Congress majority: 27 of 51 seats.
Turnout 57,1% · 2 025 070 registered
LM
North West
Premier Lazarus Mokgosi · ANC
ANC 23 · EFF 7 · DA 5 · VF+ 1 · MK 1 · ActionSA 1 of 38
African National Congress majority: 23 of 38 seats.
Turnout 50,7% · 1 768 576 registered
Northern Cape
Premier Zamani Saul · ANC
ANC 15 · DA 7 · EFF 4 · PA 3 · VF+ 1 of 30
The ANC holds exactly half the seats. The PA and FF Plus voted with it to re-elect the Premier, 19 votes to 11 (14 June 2024).
Turnout 60,9% · 656 826 registered
Western Cape
Premier Alan Winde · DA
DA 24 · ANC 8 · PA 3 · EFF 2 · NCC 1 · VF+ 1 · Al Jama-ah 1 · ACDP 1 · GOOD 1 of 42
Democratic Alliance majority: 24 of 42 seats.
Turnout 59,8% · 3 317 072 registered
213 metro and local councils
Who runs each council.
The 4 November 2026 count is still running: as of 6 November 2026, 03:04 SAST the IEC had counted 69% of 23 696 voting districts and declared 104 of 213 councils. Councils still counting show the party ahead on votes so far, in a faint tint: ward seats are declared first, so early seat counts mislead.
Full colour: one party holds more than half the seats. Half-tone: hung council, coloured by the largest party. Faint: still counting, coloured by the party ahead on votes.
ANC DA MK IFP SDP RTC ICOSA PA
Councils · Boundaries: Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB), simplified (2026)
under 35%35–45%45–55%55–65%65% and over
2021 and 2024 are matched to today's councils by municipal code; no council was merged or split between the two local elections. The 2024 view is the national (party) ballot of 29 May 2024 counted by municipality. Turnout for local elections is ballots cast ÷ 2 ÷ registered voters (each voter gets a ward and a PR ballot), so it reads about 0,3 points below the IEC's official figure; 2026 turnout appears only for councils the IEC has declared.
Eight metropolitan municipalities
The metros: before and after.
A new council elects its executive mayor at its first meeting, which the municipal manager must call within 14 days of the result being declared (Municipal Structures Act s.29). Until then the mayors below stay in office. After the 2021 elections 5 of the eight councils were hung.
Johannesburg JHB
Mayor before the election: Dada Morero (ANC), since 16 August 2024
Counting (46% of voting districts in): DA ahead on votes with 41,1%; 17 of 270 seats declared
DA41,1% · 14 seats
ANC16,9% · 3 seats
ActionSA15,6%
EFF6,9%
2021: hung, ANC largest with 91 of 270
Cape Town CPT
Mayor before the election: Geordin Hill-Lewis (DA), since 9 November 2021
Counting (50% of voting districts in): DA ahead on votes with 61,5%; 16 of 235 seats declared
DA61,5% · 15 seats
ANC9,5% · 1 seats
PA3,9%
VF+3,5%
2021: DA majority, 136 of 231
eThekwini ETH
CX
Mayor before the election: Cyril Xaba (ANC), since 10 July 2024
Counting (25% of voting districts in): MK ahead on votes with 45,3%; 10 of 223 seats declared
MK45,3% · 8 seats
DA19,5% · 1 seats
ANC16,9%
IFP7,8% · 1 seats
2021: hung, ANC largest with 96 of 222
Ekurhuleni EKU
NX
Mayor before the election: Nkosindiphile Xhakaza (ANC), since 11 April 2024
Counting (59% of voting districts in): DA ahead on votes with 29,9%; 18 of 224 seats declared
DA29,9% · 7 seats
ANC22,1% · 8 seats
ActionSA18,3% · 3 seats
MK7,1%
2021: hung, ANC largest with 86 of 224
Tshwane TSH
NM
Mayor before the election: Nasiphi Moya (ActionSA), since 9 October 2024
Counting (62% of voting districts in): DA ahead on votes with 33,6%; 27 of 214 seats declared
DA33,6% · 9 seats
ActionSA22,5% · 7 seats
ANC21,1% · 11 seats
VF+7,1%
2021: hung, ANC largest with 75 of 214
Nelson Mandela Bay NMA
BL
Mayor before the election: Babalwa Lobishe (ANC), since 31 October 2024
Counting (75% of voting districts in): DA ahead on votes with 44,3%; 22 of 120 seats declared
DA44,3% · 10 seats
ANC26,1% · 12 seats
EFF5,2%
SACP3,1%
2021: hung, ANC largest with 48 of 120
Buffalo City BUF
PF
Mayor before the election: Princess Faku (ANC), since 23 March 2023
Counting (98% of voting districts in): ANC ahead on votes with 42,0%; 41 of 100 seats declared
ANC42,0% · 32 seats
UDM18,0% · 2 seats
DA17,0% · 5 seats
EFF6,9% · 1 seats
2021: ANC majority, 61 of 100
Mangaung MAN
GN
Mayor before the election: Gregory Nthatisi (ANC), since 2023
Counting (63% of voting districts in): DA ahead on votes with 37,6%; 13 of 101 seats declared
DA37,6% · 6 seats
ANC30,3% · 6 seats
EFF7,8%
VF+7,4%
2021: ANC majority, 51 of 101
Shares are of the council's ward and PR votes counted so far (6 November 2026, 03:04 SAST). Mayors: the city's own page or a news report, linked in the sources.
Three kinds of municipality
Metro, local and district.
Metropolitan (category A)
8 cities with a single council and all municipal powers (s.155(1)(a)). Half the councillors are elected in wards, half from party lists, and the list seats top each party up to its share of the PR vote.
Local (category B)
205 councils, elected the same way, each sharing power with its district (s.155(1)(b)). The Municipal Structures Act divides functions between the local and the district council (s.84) and lets the provincial MEC adjust the division (s.85).
District (category C)
44 districts, each covering several local municipalities (s.155(1)(c)). 40% of a district council is elected on a third, district-wide PR ballot; the other 60% are sent by the local councils from among their members. District ballots are not in the IEC's results files we read, so the map shows only metro and local councils.
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Your council's result.
From our snapshot of 6 November 2026, 03:04 SAST; "All parties" reads the council's own IEC file through our API (or the snapshot if the IEC cannot be reached).
Photos: Panyaza Lesufi
— Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service (Jeon Han), CC BY-SA 2.0 · Thami Ntuli
— US Embassy South Africa, CC BY 2.0 · Phophi Ramathuba
— US Embassy South Africa, CC BY 2.0 · Mandla Ndlovu
— ZS Khumalo, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Zamani Saul
— eNCA, CC BY 3.0 · Alan Winde
— Staff photographer for the Democratic Alliance, CC BY-SA 3.0 za · Geordin Hill-Lewis
— eNCA, CC BY 3.0 . Others public domain.
Via Wikimedia Commons.
