Ongoing

  1. ElectionsHot
  2. AIHot
  3. US mid-termsHeating up
NewsbriefSouth Africa, briefly.
JoburgJHB29°80%CTCT19°100%PretoriaPTA31°100%DurbanDBN26°90%

KwaZulu-Natal turnout beats national average in local elections

Published

Ongoing: Elections Hot

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) in KwaZulu-Natal put the province's turnout at 48.7% in the 2026 Local Government Elections. The national average was 45.8%, and the commission had hoped the province would pass 50%.

Provincial Electoral Officer Ntombifuthi Masinga spoke at a media briefing on Thursday, after voting stations closed on Wednesday night. She said the commission was pleased with the turnout. At the time, 18% of results were captured and 12% had gone through auditing.

Masinga said political parties might seem further ahead in reporting results. She said their agents photograph results slips and send them to party collation centres.

Parties and independent candidates have until 5pm on Friday to lodge objections. The IEC will announce final results on Sunday. Results must be published in the Government Gazette within seven days of voting, and council office-bearers are elected within 14 days after that.

Key facts

Who
Ntombifuthi Masinga (Provincial Electoral Officer, IEC KwaZulu-Natal); Electoral Commission of South Africa (election management body, referred to as the IEC); Michael Beaumont (ActionSA national chairperson); Mdumuseni Ntuli (ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary)
What
The Electoral Commission of South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal provincial electoral officer said at a media briefing that the province's turnout was 48.7%, higher than the national average of 45.8%, while results capturing and auditing continued. Political parties and independent candidates have until 5pm Friday to lodge objections, and final results are due to be announced on Sunday.
When
5 November 2026
Where
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Gauteng
Status
Reported

Related stories

Elections Hot

What you need to know

Counting in the 2026 local government elections continues, and the Electoral Commission of South Africa will declare final results on Sunday. With 56% of voting districts counted, the ANC leads nationally with 31%, the DA has 25% and the MK Party is third.

The DA appears to have won majority control in Cape Town, and leader Geordin Hill-Lewis plans a significant announcement in Midrand on Friday. Early results point to a more fragmented vote, and ActionSA, the DA, the ANC and the EFF said they are open to coalition talks.

Earlier, police said they recorded 85 incidents and registered 57 case dockets on voting day, and the Independent Electoral Commission said a party tore up at least 100 ballots in the Northern Cape.

  1. DA prepares coalition talks as 16 Western Cape councils hang
  2. Woman hit by car in voting queue returns to vote
  3. ANC wins no Western Cape municipality in partial results

See every update

AI Hot

What you need to know

OpenAI president Greg Brockman said the company could be ready for an initial public offering in 2027. Earlier, reports based on unnamed sources said OpenAI had lowered the target for its latest funding round, and OpenAI has not been quoted on that claim.

Anthropic published its S-1 filing for a Nasdaq listing under the symbol ANT, showing revenue of $4.6bn in 2025 and a net loss of $80.7bn in the first half of 2026. Anthropic also said it is committing close to $900bn to AI infrastructure, with spending on computing power rising faster than revenues.

Elsewhere, an AI chip investment scheme that recruited South Africans on social media went offline on 30 October, leaving members unable to withdraw money.

  1. OpenAI could be ready for a share listing in 2027
  2. Only 4 people booked Uber rides through an AI agent
  3. Nothing plans to launch AI-first device next month

See every update

US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the US midterm elections on 3 November, with at least a 54-44 Senate majority and at least 30 House seats gained. Exit polls showed voters angry about high prices and the direction of the country, and the result was a rebuke of President Donald Trump.

Trump said the Iran war was needed to stop Tehran getting a nuclear weapon, but admitted it contributed to Republican losses, while Vice-President JD Vance said the war was the reason. Markets reacted, with the JSE All Share Index rising almost 5% on 5 November and Brent crude falling below $100 a barrel as investors hoped for an end to the war.

Earlier, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the result would introduce a new era in world relations, while some leaders warned of political gridlock in Washington.

  1. US planning commission approves Trump's 76m triumphal arch
  2. Asian stocks plunge as US election results shake AI trade
  3. Trump blames Democrats' election win for US stock market fall

See every update