The picture of who will run the country’s 257 municipalities became clearer as vote counting in the 2021 Local Government Elections reached 69% on Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) had aimed to complete 90% of vote counting by that evening.

However, the IEC in a statement on Wednesday said at the level of capturing, 90% of results were already in the system awaiting scanning and auditing.

This translated to 58 059 of the 64 502 expected results been captured in the results system.

It said: “Of the 58 059 results captured, 44 707 have been scanned into an image and thus available”.

The number of completed municipalities now stands at 111 from a total of 257.

A breakdown of provincial statistics reveal that the Northern Cape, with 88% of ballots counted by 7.51am on Wednesday, was likely to be the first province to conclude its vote counting.

At that stage, the African National Congress (ANC) had won 49.48% of the vote, followed by the Democratic Alliance’s 21.41% and the Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) 9.05%.

While the ANC’s 285 675 ballots saw it gain majority percentage in 22 councils, it could only secure outright wins in 13 municipalities. Coalition governments will be needed in nine hung councils.

With 79% of ballots accounted for, the Eastern Cape was the second best performing province. Here the ANC had secured control in 13 of the 15 councils it was leading in. The other two would require coalitions between parties.

The ANC in this province had by Wednesday morning won 64.24% of the counted votes. It was followed by the DA and the EFF with 14.45% and 7.92%, respectively. While the DA had majority votes in two councils, it had gained control of one council while the other would require a coalition government.

In third was Mpumalanga, with 75% of ballots accounted for. The ANC in this province had a firm grip, having secured 58.97% of the votes by 8.17am. Its 707 670 votes saw it secure outright control in eight councils while one remained hung. The EFF, with 15.62, was the party’s closet rival. The DA was not far behind, having secured 13.06% of the votes. The three parties had by then respectively secured 254, 30 and 40 seats in councils across the province.

Coming fourth was the Free State, which by then had counted 72% of the cast ballots. While controlling 10 of the 11 councils in which it had a majority, the ANC’s support in the province stood at 49.97%. The DA was its nearest rival with its 17.94%. With 12.03% of the vote, the EFF was the third highest polling party in the province.

Here, only one council was hung.

The Western Cape, with 71% of the votes counted, was a percentage point behind. It is the only province in which the DA, with 54.23% of accounted for ballots, was the leading party. In the province, while the DA led in 18 councils, it only had the control of eight. The rest would require coalitions as they were hung. The ANC, with its 18.82%, was leading in two hung councils. Several smaller parties accounted shared 8.46% of the support.

With 65% of the vote, the North West was one of the better performing four provinces lagging behind in ballot counting. Here the ANC clung onto a 55% lead. It was followed by the EFF and the DA, with 16.58% and 11.58%, respectively. While one council was hung, the ANC controlled the other five.

The country’s most populous province, Gauteng, with 56% of votes counted, proved to be a battleground of contestation, with no party emerging as a frontrunner. Here the ANC edges the DA by 6%. The ANC leads the charge with its 35.85%. Hot on its heels is the DA with 30.12%. With 12.44% of the vote, the EFF was in third spot.

Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal were the joint slowest, with 55% of votes counted by this time.

In KZN, the ANC, at 42.12%, was reeling from inroads made by a resurgent Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the DA. The latter two had each won a council each while the ANC had won five. Four councils were hung.

In Limpopo, with 52% of the votes counted, the ANC appeared in poll position, enjoying a 66% lead.

Source: South African Government News Agency