Support for the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is nearly double that of the African National Congress (ANC), with ANC support collapsing in the province andActionSA coming in with a strong showing.

At the time of writing, the DA had won just over 36% of the vote in the country’s economic heartland, with the ANC on 20.3%.

ActionSA, a party started by a former DA Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba, was on 16.4%.

Only two other parties had more than 5% of the vote in the province: the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on 6.5% and the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) on 6.2%.

The uMkhonto weSizwe Party was on 4.5%.

The chart below shows the local government election results in Gauteng since 2011 and the results to date for 2026.

While this election has no bearing on provincial government, it will shake the ANC in the province, which has often been antagonistic to the national ANC.

The result represents a major setback for the ANC in South Africa’s most economically important province. Gauteng was once a stronghold of the party, but the scale of its decline suggests that its political dominance in the province has been fundamentally broken.

The result could have significant consequences within the ANC itself. Gauteng’s provincial leadership has frequently clashed with the party’s national leadership, and such a poor electoral showing will almost certainly intensify questions about its political direction and leadership.

For the ANC, the danger extends beyond losing control of municipalities. Unless it can reverse its decline in Gauteng, it faces the prospect of becoming a relatively minor political force in the province it once governed almost unchallenged.