The Democratic Alliance (DA) remains Gauteng’s leading party in the 2026 municipal elections, despite its share of the counted vote dropping by more than four percentage points since Thursday morning.
According to the Electoral Commission’s (IEC) results dashboard, the DA had secured 809 787 votes (36.4%) by 18:24 on Thursday, 5 November.
The African National Congress (ANC) followed with 444 842 votes (20%), while ActionSA occupied third place with 363 677 votes (16.35%).
The DA held a lead of 364 945 votes over the ANC, with 37% of Gauteng’s votes counted.
How Gauteng’s election results have changedThe DA’s lead in Gauteng has narrowed since Thursday morning, when it held 40.55% of votes counted, compared with the ANC’s 18.87%.
By 18:24, the DA had dropped to 36.4%, while the ANC climbed to 20%, cutting the gap between the parties from 21.68 to 16.4 percentage points.
Only 6% of Gauteng’s votes had been counted during the morning update, compared with 37% by Thursday evening.
ActionSA maintains third placeActionSA has also increased its share of the counted vote, rising from 15.14% in the morning to 16.35%.
The party now trails the ANC by 81 165 votes in Gauteng.
Further down the standings, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) had secured 6.37%, narrowly ahead of the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) on 6.18%.
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) followed with 4.5%, while the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) stood at 1.13%.
The Patriotic Alliance (PA) had received 1.07% of votes counted.
What happens next in Gauteng?With 63% of Gauteng’s votes still outstanding, results from Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and other municipalities could change the current standings.
IEC Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo said on Thursday that officials capture results twice and conduct independent audits before confirming them.
The commission urged political parties and the public to refrain from spreading unverified information while counting continues.
The latest election results are available on the IEC’s official dashboard.