The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) said 23,444 of the 66,073 result slips it expects had been scanned into its results system by 09:00 on Thursday 5 November. It will announce final results for the 2026 Local Government Elections on Sunday.
Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo gave the figures at a media briefing, according to SAnews. Of the expected slips, 22,983 (34.8%) had been captured and 16,791 (25.4%) had been independently audited. The slips cover local municipality, metro and district council votes at 23,696 voting stations. About 29.2 million voters were registered.
How far results had got
Results from 18 municipalities, or 7%, were concluded at 09:00. The Commission said that in 2021 at the same time only seven municipalities were complete. It said the faster pace came despite longer ballot papers, more contestants and a higher rate of voter participation.
Voting stations closed at 21:00 on Wednesday. Mamabolo said counting, tallying and verification continued through the night with party agents, independent candidate agents and accredited observers present. He said “counting happens at the voting station where the ballots were cast”.
After the count, a result slip is captured twice in front of agents and observers. Slips travel in tamper-evident envelopes to a local capturing site, where they are captured by double-blind entry, scanned and audited. The Commission said the audit covers all results, not a sample.
Source: Electoral Commission of South Africa, briefing of 5 November 2026, via SAnews. Chart: Rand Desk
Turnout and the provinces
KwaZulu-Natal recorded 48.7% turnout, above the national average of 45.8%, according to Provincial Electoral Officer Ntombifuthi Masinga. She said the province had hoped to pass 50%. At the time of her briefing, 18% of the province’s results were captured and 12% audited.
Masinga said parties might appear to be further ahead than the IEC because their agents are encouraged to photograph result slips and send them to party collation centres. The IEC does not put a result on its dashboard until the independent auditors have confirmed it matches the voting station’s record.
What happens next
Parties and independent candidates have until 17:00 on Friday to lodge objections under section 65 of the Electoral Act. They can object to any part of the process where they believe a voting station’s result may have been compromised, said Masinga. The Commission has appointed a panel of legal practitioners to help investigate them.
The Commission appealed for patience and asked candidates and their supporters not to spread unverified information about results. Mamabolo said it could create tensions, incite violence and cause damage to property and injuries.
Final results come on Sunday once objections are resolved. The IEC then has seven days from the date of voting to publish them in the Government Gazette, and councils must elect mayors, speakers and district council representatives within 14 days of that publication.
Earlier coverage: the IEC’s first count on Election Day and special voting before Election Day.
