Ongoing

  1. ElectionsHot
  2. US mid-termsHeating up
  3. AICooling
NewsbriefSouth Africa, briefly.
JoburgJHB29°16°CTCT30°17°PretoriaPTA31°17°DurbanDBN27°64%

Mantashe tells ANC to accept election results

Published

Ongoing: Elections Hot

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe spoke after voting in Boksburg on Wednesday. He told members not to query the results or discredit the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), and said the party must first try to win municipalities alone.

Mantashe voted at Freeway Park Primary School in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni. He said he gave the ANC eight votes from his family. He said it was the last time he would vote as an ANC leader, and that his term ends in December 2027.

He said the ANC must give the IEC credibility even if members are unhappy with the results. He said other parties like to discredit the commission. The results are due at the weekend.

Mantashe said polls show the ANC losing more ground, especially in metros. He claimed support in eThekwini could collapse because of the MK Party. He also said the ANC's grip is slipping in Buffalo City and Mangaung, the only metros it runs with an outright majority.

On coalitions, he said the ANC must first try to win as many municipalities as it can on its own. Asked about the government of national unity, he said the party is trying to make it work and that it sometimes does and sometimes does not.

Key facts

Who
Gwede Mantashe (ANC chairperson); Electoral Commission of South Africa (electoral body (IEC)); African National Congress (governing party, ANC); MK Party (political party cited as a factor in eThekwini polling)
What
On election day, Gwede Mantashe urged the ANC to accept the election results and not to query or discredit the IEC, and said the party must first try to win as many municipalities as possible on its own before coalition talks. He said he was voting for the last time as an ANC leader.
When
4 November 2026
Where
Boksburg, Freeway Park Primary School, Ekurhuleni
Status
Reported

Related stories

Elections Hot

What you need to know

Voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections is under way at 23,696 stations, and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) reported a smooth start on 4 November. Stations opened at 7am and close at 9pm, and by 10am preliminary figures showed 3,523,691 voters had cast ballots.

There were problems: unused ballot papers were stolen from Mnyameni Secondary School near Durban, police opened a case, and the IEC relieved the station staff of duty. Some voters in Tshwane said they were turned away for wearing party shirts, but the IEC denied this and said only mayoral candidates' entourages were barred.

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe told members not to query the results or discredit the IEC, while the IEC said false online claims show routine procedures as fraud.

  1. IEC dismisses MK Party worry about dead people on voters' roll
  2. IEC says local election voting went largely smoothly
  3. IEC says about 12 million had voted by 5pm

See every update

US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

Democrats won back both the US House and Senate in the midterm elections held on 3 November, according to media projections. Exit polls showed voters were angry about high prices and the direction of the country, and rebuked President Donald Trump.

Before the vote, US forces struck targets on Qeshm Island in Iran, while Republicans struggled to defend the war against Iran on the campaign trail. Iranian officials said US voters rejected the war, and Tehran stayed on high alert for possible new US strikes.

Markets reacted, with the dollar hitting a one-month low and the rand firming to around R16.55, as analysts pointed to fears of gridlock in Washington.

  1. Iran welcomes Democratic wins in US midterm elections
  2. Democrats win US Congress in midterm vote, projections show
  3. Ramaphosa wants US trade deal after AGOA suspension

See every update

AI Cooling

What you need to know

Nvidia has told its cloud computing clients to sell at least 51% of their services to non-Chinese companies, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. Anthropic said it has committed to spend close to $900bn on AI infrastructure, and that its computing costs are rising faster than its revenues.

Elsewhere, reports from unnamed sources say OpenAI's latest funding round is falling short of expectations, and a judge let the NAACP pollution case against xAI proceed. In South Africa, the VAST AI investment scheme went offline on 30 October after withdrawals marked approved did not arrive, according to a news investigation.

  1. Accenture faces accusations over AI report with false citations
  2. CrowdStrike to buy two AI security startups
  3. Google lets schools turn off AI tools but limits Search

See every update