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The number of hung municipal councils in South Africa has increased from 66 following the 2021 local government elections to 138, marking the most complex political puzzle South Africa's political leaders have ever been asked to solve.

The chart below shows the change in the number of hung councils in South Africa since 2006, and this is plotted against the share of the vote the African National Congress (ANC) received in each of the relevant local government elections (213 councils were contested in last week’s local government elections).

This is in line with previous estimates from The Common Sense of how many councils would be hung after the local government elections.

A hung council is one in which no political party controls more than half of the seats, meaning that coalitions are needed to elect a mayor, pass legislation, and pass budgets.

Of the country’s 213 councils, just 74 have an outright majority held by a single party (one municipality is yet to be declared). This means that 64.8% of South Africa’s municipalities are now hung, compared with 32.9% following the 2021 elections. That is shown on the chart below.

The ANC remains the largest party in 132 councils, followed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) in 34, the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) in 21, and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in 20. ActionSA, the Patriotic Alliance, the Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa, the Service Delivery Party, and Rise Tsantsabane Communities are each the largest party in one municipality.

The chart below shows councils by largest party. Solid colours show councils where the largest party has an outright majority. Shaded colours show councils where the largest party does not have an outright majority.

The complexity of the coalition negotiations that are set to follow from this number of hung councils is beyond anything South Africa has previously experienced. Each negotiation, it must be remembered, has an impact on every other negotiation. Where the deal reached in one municipality contradicts a deal reached in another, or one reached at metro, provincial, or national level, the implications could extend as far as destabilising the Government of National Unity arrangement which South Africans have become accustomed to since mid-2024.