RC 261109SAfmJoanne Joseph
Monday, 9 November 2026
Election results dominated the morning as the IEC declared the 2026 local polls free and fair, while hung councils and a 14-day countdown to coalition talks took centre stage.
- 09:01
The IEC has declared the 2026 local government elections free and fair, saying South Africans must celebrate their democracy coming of age after the seventh municipal polls.
- 09:02
Ramaphosa says 138 councils are hung and urges parties to rise above their differences, warning that coalition talks must not become contests over positions, privileges or power.
- 09:02
In Ekurhuleni, the DA leads with 66 seats while the ANC drops to 59, a loss of 27, Action SA rises to 40 seats, and the MK Party wins 15 in its first local government election.
- 09:54
A senior law lecturer says an appeal or section 65 objection does not suspend declared results, which stand unless a court or the IEC later changes them.
- 10:42
KwaZulu-Natal has 34 hung councils, and coalition talks will decide who governs in most of them.