Midrand:Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) Chairperson Mosotho Moepya announced that the results capturing and verification process for the 2026 Local Government Elections is making steady progress, with more than 60% of the 66,073 results captured by 5 PM on Thursday.
According to South African Government News Agency, Moepya reported that approximately 40,202 result slips have been scanned, and 32,238 have undergone independent auditing. These steps are part of the verification and quality assurance processes to ensure the accuracy, transparency, and integrity of the results before finalization.
The elections, which took place on Wednesday, allowed South Africans to elect representatives to municipal councils, giving citizens the chance to influence local governance and hold elected leaders accountable. Provincially, the Northern Cape leads with 87% of its results captured, followed by the Western Cape at 69%, the Free State at 64%, and the Eastern Cape at 60%. Mpumalanga has captured 52% of its results, while KwaZulu-Natal, North West, Gauteng, and Limpopo have captured 37%, 35%, 35%, and 23%, respectively.
Moepya highlighted that 65 of the country's 213 municipalities have completed the capturing, scanning, auditing, and exception processes. However, he cautioned that the figures remain provisional until all objections material to the election are resolved. The Commission aims to finalize the results by the weekend while ensuring all verification and quality assurance processes are rigorously followed.
The Commission also introduced an enhanced Issue Tracker as part of the Virtual Results Operations Centre (ROC) for this election. This innovation allows contestants and electoral staff to report issues potentially affecting the election process. The Issue Tracker has resolved over 1,000 cases since special voting began. Moepya urged all stakeholders to adhere to election regulations and avoid spreading disinformation about the results.