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

The ANC leads in 62 councils and controls 21, while the DA and MK Party are consolidating footholds across two provinces.

The IEC dashboard records 1,483 ANC seats, against 742 for the DA and 283 for MK, with counting at 69% on Friday morning.

The DA leads in 19 councils and controls six, while MK leads in ten and controls three across KwaZulu-Natal.

These figures capture an unfinished count, with further results still capable of changing council leads, control and party seat totals.

The ANC draws its largest council leads from the Northern Cape, where it heads 19 councils and holds 191 seats.

The Eastern Cape and Free State each contribute another 14 council leads, with 361 and 161 ANC seats respectively.

Together, those three provinces account for 47 of the ANC’s 62 council leads, concentrating its advantage outside Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

Mpumalanga adds six council leads and 168 seats, while North West contributes four leads and another 148 seats.

Limpopo gives the ANC three council leads and 143 seats, alongside its highest provincial support share of 55.18%.

KwaZulu-Natal contributes only two ANC council leads and 137 seats, as MK establishes the stronger council position there.

DA anchors council strength in Western Cape

The Western Cape anchors the DA’s council position, contributing 16 of its 19 leads and five of its six controls.

The party holds 262 seats there and commands 55% support, giving the province the largest DA seat contribution.

The Eastern Cape supplies the DA’s other controlled council, alongside two council leads, 104 seats and 19.5% support.

The Northern Cape adds its remaining council lead and 93 seats, although the dashboard records no outright DA control there.

The DA also holds 87 seats in the Free State, 69 in Gauteng and 53 across KwaZulu-Natal.

Its remaining provincial totals comprise 34 seats in Mpumalanga, 24 in North West and another 16 in Limpopo.

Despite their wider seat footprints, neither the ANC nor DA records a council lead or outright control in Gauteng.

The DA nevertheless leads the ANC on Gauteng’s support measure, with 34.94% against 21.1%, as counting continues.

The ANC holds more Gauteng seats at this stage, with 81 against the DA’s 69, illustrating the different dashboard measures.

MK concentrates all ten council leads and three controlled councils in KwaZulu-Natal, where it holds 236 of its 283 seats.

Its 34.71% provincial support exceeds the ANC’s 21.82% and the DA’s 11%, giving MK the strongest showing among those parties.

Outside KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga supplies MK’s largest seat contribution, with 38 seats and 10.15% support, alongside no council leads.

MK also holds three seats each in the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape, two in the Western Cape and one in North West.

The IFP follows MK nationally with three council leads and 165 seats, although the dashboard records no outright IFP control.

The PA leads one council and holds 128 seats, while the SDP also leads one council and holds 16 seats.

RTC leads and controls one council, with nine seats, joining the ANC, DA and MK in the dashboard’s control column.

The EFF holds 139 seats without a council lead, while the SACP holds 68 seats and also records no leads.

ActionSA holds 29 seats without leading a council, while the Freedom Front Plus holds 81 seats without any council leads.

Nationally, the ANC’s support stands at 31.85%, followed by the DA’s 24.68% and MK’s 8.95%, alongside their differing council footprints.