ANC secures 191 seats as Northern Cape wraps up vote count
Northern Cape became the first province to complete the capturing of the 2026 LGE results
The Northern Cape has become the first South African province to finalize the vote count for the 2026 local government elections. The African National Congress (ANC) emerged as the winner, securing 191 seats in the council, with over 41% of the votes. The Democratic Alliance came in second place, receiving nearly 22% of the votes. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) were in third place, with 9% of the votes, followed by the Patriotic Alliance (PA) with 8%.
The Northern Cape, which had approximately 700,000 registered voters, contributed less than 3% of South Africa's total registered voters for the elections. Keith Sayster, a SABC News reporter, reported that the race for council control saw the ANC leading, with the RTC and DA trailing behind.
Elkin Topkin, the IEC Provincial Head of Elections in the Northern Cape, expressed relief at completing the labor-intensive task over four days without sleep. He acknowledged the challenges faced during these 40 hours without rest and praised the dedication of the staff members involved. However, he noted that the municipality of Siyaquma still has an outstanding voting station to finalize, which may delay the official establishment of the municipality. Topkin emphasized the importance of finding a swift resolution to this issue.
Written by urgent.news from SABC News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
