Higher voter turnout in urban centres signals more trouble for ANC - political analyst - EWN

By 6 pm on Wednesday evening, 12 million South Africans had cast their ballots in the 2026 local government elections, as Stephen Grootes reports from the results operations centre in Midrand, Gauteng.

While protests and bad weather have been blamed for delays at some voting stations, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) says 98% of voting stations opened on time across the country.

While there is likely to be a rush of voters before polls close at 9 pm, political analyst Ralph Mathekga says turnout looks "quite impressive" so far, compared to previous elections.

There's a growing realisation that more and more South Africans have lost patience with service delivery failures, which should influence their choice in these local elections which will determine who will be in control of essential services.

Differential turnout across social demographics and particularly between the ANC and DA, is likely to be a key factor, Mathekga says.

Historically, there has been better turnout in townships compared to metropolitan areas, he notes, recalling in previous elections that votes coming in from the township would actually start suppressing what was happening in urban centres.