Voters turn out in their millions as IEC hopes to declare final results by Sunday

Almost 15.9 million South Africans cast their vote out of 29.2 million registered voters in the 2026 local government elections.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) confirmed the figure after voting stations closed at 9pm on Wednesday, wrapping up voting at more than 23,000 stations nationwide.

Of those who voted, about 13 million cast their ballots on Wednesday itself, while roughly 1.5 million had already voted during special voting on Monday and Tuesday because they could not get to a station on Election Day.

Counting is already under way. The first results started coming through on Wednesday night, and by 7am on Thursday, 15% of the vote had been counted.

The IEC says it wants the final results out by the weekend.

Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo said a weekend announcement would give everyone certainty, let municipalities start planning their first council sittings, and leave parties with enough time to talk coalitions where no one has won outright.

Turnout will also come under the spotlight. In 2021, only 46% of registered voters cast a ballot, the lowest turnout since democracy.

For the moment, the work is about counting, checking and auditing. Results are being captured with party agents and observers watching at the Results Operations Centre in Midrand and at provincial centres.

Once the final outcome is declared, municipalities will have to move quickly to set up councils, choose mayors, speakers and whips, and where there is no outright winner, start the tough task of forming coalitions.