Vote counting began immediately after polling stations closed at 21:00 on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) overseeing the tallying process across the country. Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo confirmed that counting, tallying, and verification continued through the night in the presence of political party agents, independent candidates, and accredited observers.
By 09:00 on Thursday, 5 November, the IEC expected to process a total of 66,073 result slips from 23,696 voting stations covering local municipality, metro, and district council votes nationwide. At that time, 23,444 result slips had been scanned and 22,983 captured into the results system, while 16,791 had already undergone independent auditing.
Mamabolo noted, “The counting, tallying and verification of votes continued throughout the night with the presence of political party agents, independent candidate agents and accredited observers.” He urged all candidates and political players to refrain from spreading unverified information or disinformation about the election results.
Results from 18 local municipalities, representing 7% of the total, had been concluded by 09:00, a pace reportedly ahead of the equivalent point during the 2021 Local Government Elections.
Further updates from IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya indicated that by 17:00 on Thursday, more than 60% of the 66,073 expected results slips had been captured. Provincial breakdowns showed the Northern Cape leading with 87% of results captured, followed by Western Cape at 69%, Free State at 64%, and Eastern Cape at 60%.
The IEC anticipates finalising all election results by Sunday, 9 November 2026, after the resolution of any objections lodged by parties or candidates.
The IEC’s standard process involves scanning results slips, double data capturing, and conducting independent audits to ensure accuracy before official results are published. This multi-step procedure can lead to differences between party tallies reported on election night and the official figures released by the IEC.
For the Western Cape and Cape Town residents, the capture rate is a promising indicator of a smooth and efficient collation process compared to past elections. While independent media coverage reports on the rising capture percentages, no specific verified local results or incidents related to voting have yet been released for Cape Flats or other neighbourhoods.
This update is based on official IEC briefings, statements from Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo, and corroborated by independent media reports as of 5 November 2026. Any claims regarding final winners, completed counting at individual polling stations, or detailed ward results remain unverified and pending official publication.
The Cape Flats news desk will continue monitoring final counts and official announcements through the weekend ahead of the official result certification next week.