By Levy Masiteng
The ANC is leading in most of Mpumalanga’s municipalities, while the Democratic Alliance (DA), uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) and Service Delivery Party (SDP) have emerged as contenders in several areas as counting continues following Wednesday’s local government elections.
Provisional results released on Thursday showed the ANC leading in 12 of the province’s 17 municipalities.
The DA was ahead in Emalahleni and Govan Mbeki, the MK Party in Mkhondo and the SDP in Victor Khanye.
The results point to closely contested races in several municipalities, with no party having secured an outright majority.
In Bushbuckridge, the ANC was leading with 71.2% of the vote, based on voting districts counted by early Thursday afternoon. The party was also ahead in Chief Albert Luthuli with 49.8%, the City of Mbombela with 48.2%, Dr JS Moroka with 46.5% and Nkomazi with 49.8%.
The ANC was also leading in Dr Pixley Ka Isaka Seme, Emakhazeni, Lekwa, Msukaligwa, Steve Tshwete, Thaba Chweu and Thembisile Hani.
The DA was ahead in Emalahleni with 36.8% and Govan Mbeki with 37.3%, according to the provisional results.
In Mkhondo, the MK Party was leading with 42.6%, while the SDP was ahead in Victor Khanye, where it had secured enough seats to become the largest party, but not an outright majority.
Dipaleseng was another municipality without a clear majority, with the ANC having secured six of the 12 council seats after all 33 voting districts had been counted.
The results suggest that although the ANC retains a strong lead across much of the province, opposition parties are making gains in several municipal areas.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) reported a provisional voter turnout of 49.2% in Mpumalanga by Thursday afternoon.
At the time, about 745 of the province’s 1,846 voting districts had been counted, with results still outstanding in several municipalities.
Nationally, about 15.9 million South Africans had participated in the November 4 elections, including those who cast special votes, according to IEC Deputy Chief Electoral Officer for Electoral Operations Masego Sheburi.
More than 29 million people were registered to vote nationally.
Sheburi also said the commission had received more than 800 complaints from political parties and candidates, with about 106 still outstanding at the time of Thursday’s update.
The IEC said counting and verification were continuing, with parties and candidates given until Friday afternoon to lodge formal objections that could affect the results.
The Mpumalanga results remain provisional, and the final allocation of council seats will depend on the completion and verification of all voting districts.
The IEC is expected to announce the final results of the 2026 local government elections on Sunday, once counting, verification and the resolution of outstanding objections have been completed.
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