ANC poised to win 4 of 6 contested municipalities after list disputes

With 62% of votes counted nationally, the the African National Congress (ANC) is on course to secure victories in four of the six municipalities that became the focus of a legal battle over candidates lists ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections.

The municipalities in the Eastern Cape are Port St Johns, Ngquza Hill, Walter Sisulu and Sundays River Valley.

The dispute arose after the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) announced that the ANC and more than 40 other political parties had uploaded candidate information, but had not finalised their submissions properly before the deadline.

A Constitutional Court ruling ultimately ordered the IEC to take the necessary steps to ensure the ANC’s candidates appeared on the ballot in the affected municipalities.

The early results suggest the party managed to retain voter support in most of the contested areas despite the pre-election controversy.

In the Sundays River Local Municipality, the ANC secured just over 51 percent of the vote after all ballots were counted, effectively retaining control of the local council.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) finished second with more than 21 percent support.

While the ANC’s vote share in the Sundays River Local Municipality is down from the 63.5 percent it achieved in the 2021 local government elections, the result will be seen as a significant victory.