Elections 2026 | How party leaders are faring in their home wards

For political party leaders in an election, national rejection hurts, but rejection from people who might encounter you at the shops carries a more intimate sting.

Leaders can appreciate the distinction as results emerge from the wards associated with their homes.

Some enjoy reassuring local support. Others might prefer discussing the national picture, the international situation, or almost anything else.

IEC numbers offer an entertaining neighbourhood inspection, although incomplete counting still leaves several front doors open.

These figures measure party support within wards. They do not record personal contests between the leaders, who sought no councillor posts.

Still, politics rarely resists a comparison simply because its subjects would prefer a longer methodological introduction.

The president’s awkward neighbourhood

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Johannesburg Ward 90 offers the least comfortable reading for anyone hoping presidential proximity translates into ANC support.

The DA commands 78.18%, with 17,193 recorded votes. ActionSA follows at 5.91%, while the ANC occupies third place with 4.73%.

That gives the ANC 1,040 votes, against ActionSA’s 1,300. Even the contest for second place currently excludes the governing party.

READ MORE: Elections 2026| Mokonyane blames ANC internal processes for LGE calamity

RISE Mzansi follows closely behind the ANC on 4.61%, adding another uncomfortable detail to an already unhelpful local portrait.

The DA’s tally exceeds the ANC’s sixteenfold. Whatever advantages accompany living near the president, automatic ANC loyalty apparently requires separate arrangements.

The figures cannot explain residents’ motivations. They can establish that the president’s party enjoys very little of their recorded support.

Mapaila’s revolution meets the neighbours

Solly Mapaila’s Ekurhuleni Ward 56 supplies another lesson in the distance between national prominence and local electoral affection.

The SACP records 3.54%, placing it sixth behind the ANC, ActionSA, EFF, DA and MK Party.

The ANC leads with 38.96% and 3,559 votes. ActionSA follows with 14.77%, while the EFF takes 12.68%.

Mapaila’s party therefore trails the alliance partner it chose to challenge independently, alongside four other competitors.

READ MORE: Let the SACP finally contest elections and test its strength

A neighbourhood cannot settle the argument over independent communist participation. It can, however, decline an invitation with considerable clarity.

Elsewhere, SACP voters have supplied the party with meaningful footholds. This particular ward currently offers its general secretary limited bragging rights.

Zuma gets a contest

Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla Ward 14 provides the closest encounter, with very little room for celebratory choreography.

MK Party leads with 1,625 votes and 47.5%. The IFP follows with 1,598 votes and 46.71%.

Twenty-seven votes separate them. That margin invites careful watching rather than confident declarations about impregnable political fortresses.

The ANC records 159 votes and 4.65%, leaving Zuma’s former party watching the main contest from a substantial distance.

MK Party and the IFP together command more than 94% of recorded support. This neighbourhood has concentrated its argument between two options.

Zuma has an advantage, but the IFP remains close enough to discourage anyone from putting away the calculator.

READ MORE: Elections 2026 | MK Party wins its first KZN municipality, snatching former ANC stronghold

Hlabisa has breathing space

Velenkosini Hlabisa’s Big Five Hlabisa Ward 11 offers a considerably calmer experience for the IFP leadership.

The dashboard shows counting at 100%, an IFP seat and 74.65% support, representing 3,772 votes.

The ANC follows with 720 votes and 14.25%. MK Party takes 449 votes and 8.89%, well behind both parties.

Here, the IFP leads the ANC by 3,052 votes. Hlabisa can inspect his neighbourhood figures without searching urgently for contextual footnotes.

His combines overwhelming party support with an explicit completed-count indicator. That makes the reassurance rather more substantial.

Malema leads, Holomisa chases

Julius Malema’s Polokwane Ward 13 gives the EFF 46.34%, against the ANC’s 28.77% and ActionSA’s 11.24%.

The EFF records 2,854 votes, establishing a 1,082-vote advantage over the ANC’s 1,772. Malema currently has something useful for local conversation.

His party leads, although its support remains below half. Further counting will determine whether that advantage holds.

Bantu Holomisa’s King Sabata Dalindyebo Ward 6 presents the opposite arrangement, with the UDM pursuing an ANC lead.

READ MORE: Elections 2026 | ANC leads 62 councils as DA and MK consolidate provincial footholds

The ANC records 1,053 votes and 30.31%. The UDM follows with 660 votes and 19%, ahead of the DA’s 13.36%.

Holomisa’s party trails by 393 votes.