Election 2026 | ANC takes early control of three councils, PA punches above its weight

The ANC has emerged as the first political party to secure control of municipalities in the 2026 local government elections, while the Patriotic Alliance (PA) is outperforming several bigger parties in the allocation of council seats.

With 15% of votes counted on Thursday morning, the Electoral Commission’s (IEC) results dashboard showed the ANC controlling three councils and leading in another eight.

The ANC had accumulated 120 seats, followed by the DA with 81 and the PA with 26.

The PA was also leading in one council, making it the only party besides the ANC to register a council lead on the dashboard.

Despite receiving almost as many votes as the ANC nationally, the DA had not yet registered control of any council.

The ANC had secured 31.76% of valid votes against the DA’s 31.23%, a difference of just 0.53 percentage points.

However, the ANC’s advantage in seats stood at 39, illustrating how the distribution of votes across municipalities can produce a different picture from national support percentages.

PA beats bigger parties in seat race

One of the most striking developments was the PA’s performance compared with parties enjoying greater national support.

The party had secured 26 seats despite attracting only 4.41% of votes counted nationally.

By comparison, the MK Party, which occupied third position nationally with 5.13%, had secured four seats.

The EFF, which followed MK with 4.94% support, had six seats.

The Freedom Front Plus also enjoyed slightly more national support than the PA, recording 4.46%, but had accumulated only five seats.

The figures placed the PA third in the early seat rankings despite occupying sixth position in the national vote standings.

ActionSA had secured three seats with 2.34% support, while the IFP had two seats with 2.32%.

The PMC had two seats despite attracting just 0.26% nationally.

The SACP, which contested the elections independently of the ANC, had secured one seat and attracted 2.56% support.

ICOSA and independent candidates had also registered one seat each.

Support comparison reveals changing picture

The early national percentages also presented a striking contrast with the completed 2021 municipal election results.

The ANC finished the previous elections with approximately 45.6% support, while the DA received 21.7%.

The EFF secured approximately 10.3%, while the PA attracted about 1%.

The current figures place the ANC substantially below its previous national performance, while the DA and PA are recording considerably higher percentages.

The EFF’s early share is also less than half its 2021 result.

However, these comparisons do not establish final electoral gains or losses because 85% of the 2026 count remained outstanding.

Results from municipalities with different political allegiances could substantially alter the national percentages and seat rankings.

The immediate picture is nevertheless clear. The ANC holds the early advantage in councils and seats, while the PA has secured a disproportionately large share of seats compared with its national vote.

The DA remains the ANC’s closest challenger in votes but trails significantly in council representation at this stage.