Nightmare on Election Street as 110 councils hung

Sa's local government map turned on its head as official IEC tallies show 110 municipal councils hung, setting off a wild scramble for coalition pacts across the country

With about 95% of the national vote counted on Friday night, the Electoral Commission of SA dashboard confirmed that 110 municipal councils across the country are hung without an outright winner.

The ANC remained stuck on 31.22% with 8,464,323 votes, holding outright control of 44 councils and securing 2,753 seats.

The DA sat in second position with 24.43% and 6,615,253 votes, winning 1,204 seats and outright control of 11 councils.

Jacob Zuma’s MK Party took third place on 9.61% with 2,602,676 votes, 614 seats, and three outright councils.

Among the remaining parties, the EFF stood at 6.2% with 359 seats, ActionSA recorded 5.29% with 125 seats, the IFP logged 4.91% with 417 seats and five outright councils, and the SACP held 2.41% with 186 seats.

Meanwhile, in KwaZulu-Natal, the MK Party ran roughshod over the province, pushing the ANC onto the ropes on its old stomping ground.

The MK Party grabbed top spot with 34.6% and 1,931,825 votes, pocketing 500 seats, snatching outright control of three councils, and leading the pack in 16 others.

The Inkatha Freedom Party shoved the ANC into third place, picking up 21.37% with 1,223,511 votes.

That gave the IFP outright power in five councils, the front-runner spot in 16 more, and 421 seats.

The numbers spelt pure embarrassment for Luthuli House, with the ANC trapped on 20.83% and 1,195,181 votes.

The party walked away with outright control of just one council and 308 seats, while 28 of the province’s 44 councils ended up hung with no outright winner.

MK Party provincial convener Willies Mchunu said the party would approach coalition negotiations with an open mind and was prepared to engage in give-and-take discussions rather than enter talks with rigid positions.

Assessing the carnage on the board, Oxford Economics Africa senior political analyst Louw Nel said the ruling party had run into an unmitigated disaster.

“The ANC is performing worse than expected, and expectations were already low,” Nel said, adding that slipping to around 32% of the national vote was the party’s “worst nightmare coming true”.

Nel pointed out that the collapse was driven by furious voters punishing the party at the ballot box for rampant corruption scandals, high crime rates, and persistent failures in basic services like water and electricity.

He added that while national party leaders had hoped voters would stay home out of apathy, turnout patterns showed that citizens actively turned up at polling stations to cast their ballots for opposition rivals and alternative movements.

Nel warned that the fallout will trigger vicious internal finger-pointing inside Luthuli House, placing secretary general Fikile Mbalula directly under fire from angry provincial structures.

“Both parties want coalition decisions taken centrally, but regional structures may not accept agreements imposed on them by national leadership,” Nel said, noting that local party barons are unlikely to stomach dictation from headquarters after such a catastrophic campaign.

“That could complicate how coalitions form and hold together,” Nel said.

Weighing in on the historic fracture that saw the SACP contest on its own ticket and strip crucial ward seats from the ruling party, political analyst and activist Dr Dale McKinley said the results reflected a profound, irreversible alienation of the working class from the ruling elite.

McKinley said the electorate was no longer bound by historic loyalty to a brand that has consistently failed to deliver basic human dignity and functional community infrastructure.

“What we are seeing is the inevitable consequence of decades of neoliberal policy choices, factional greed, and systemic neglect of poor communities,” McKinley said, noting that the SACP's independent showing and the surge in community formations proved traditional voters are walking away from Luthuli House.

“The working class has realised that waiting for salvation from above is a dead end,” McKinley added, emphasising that the fragmentation across 110 councils represents a decisive rejection of top-down municipal governance.

Political analyst Dr Oscar van Heerden agreed that the party’s massive losses across major urban centres could tear apart national stability, warning that the damage will not stay contained within local councils.