The IEC had received 197 objections to the 2026 local government election results by 15:00 on Saturday 7 November, chairperson Mosotho Moepya said.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa gave no outcome for the rest. Of the 197, 54 had been dismissed, eight withdrawn and two upheld. By our subtraction, that leaves 133 for which it gave no outcome. Moepya spoke at a media briefing at the national results operations centre in Midrand.
Parties and independent candidates had until 17:00 on Friday 6 November to lodge objections. Section 65 of the Municipal Electoral Act lets them object on matters that affect the final result: voting, counting, and interference, intimidation or obstruction at or near a voting station.
Under sections 65(4) and 65(5), the commission must investigate each objection, uphold or reject it, and tell the objector and any interested party. Moepya said: “the Commission is now engaged in determining objections that are material to the result of the election.”
The IEC said it can uphold an objection before or after it declares the results. Before the declaration, it may decide that the votes at a voting station do not count, in whole or in part. It may also deduct votes from a party or candidate, or reduce the number of votes cast for them. After the declaration, it may amend the result. It may also refer the objection to the Electoral Court if it holds that the seriousness and extent of the irregularities justify setting aside an election.
Source: Electoral Commission of South Africa, briefing of 7 November 2026, via SAnews; the no outcome figure is 197 minus the other three. Chart: Rand Desk
The commission said it would put every effort into settling the objections before it announces results.
On results processing, the IEC said all municipalities in six provinces were complete: the Free State, Mpumalanga, the Northern Cape, the Western Cape, the Eastern Cape and Limpopo. In Gauteng, results were still pending in Emfuleni, Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni. In North West the pending municipality was Rustenburg. In KwaZulu-Natal the pending municipalities were Msunduzi and eThekwini. The IEC said it expected to finish these by Saturday evening.
The 54 dismissed objections are 27% of the 197 received, and the two upheld are 1%. The 133 with no reported outcome are 68%. The IEC has not said how many of the 197 came from each party or which municipalities they concern.
The commission asked contesting parties, candidates, citizens and the media to bear with it while it finishes the remaining processes. Its statement did not say what happens to the announcement time if objections are still open on Sunday.
Our Friday story on the IEC’s completion figures has the earlier count by province. The commission plans to announce the results of the election on Sunday 8 November at 18:00.
