Ongoing

  1. ElectionsHot
  2. AIHot
  3. US mid-termsHeating up
NewsbriefSouth Africa, briefly.
JoburgJHB29°69%CTCT21°90%PretoriaPTA33°75%DurbanDBN30°20°

MK Party leads KwaZulu-Natal count as DA eyes kingmaker role

Published

With 29% of votes counted in KwaZulu-Natal, the MK Party had 33.34%, ahead of the ANC on 24.94% and the IFP on 22.45%. The DA, on 10.18%, said it would decide on coalitions after it consults its structures.

DA provincial chairperson Dean Macpherson spoke to journalists at the results operations centre in Durban on Thursday. He warned parties against coalitions with the MK Party. He said any party that works with it would be harmed by its toxicity.

Macpherson said the DA would be the deciding vote in many municipalities in the province. He said the MK Party would fall well short of its 2024 performance in eThekwini and other places. He added that the MK Party and the IFP together would still lack a majority in eThekwini. He said South Africans want stable coalitions and stable government, and that DA phones were on.

The DA also declared victory in uMngeni Local Municipality. A DA statement said the party won 10 out of 13 wards, including five that the ANC held before. The party claimed a majority of more than 60% and more than 24,000 votes, up from about 14,000 in 2021.

In Cape Town, DA figure Geordin Hill-Lewis declared an early victory and claimed 58% of the vote. The MK Party, led by Jacob Zuma, won 45% of the vote in KwaZulu-Natal in the 2024 general elections.

Key facts

Who
Dean Macpherson (DA provincial chairperson in KwaZulu-Natal); Jacob Zuma (leader of the MK Party); Chris Pappas (Mayor of uMngeni, leads the local DA team); Geordin Hill-Lewis (DA figure who declared victory early in Cape Town)
What
DA KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Dean Macpherson warned parties against coalitions with the MK Party and said the DA would decide on coalitions after consulting its structures, as results from the 2026 local government elections were still being counted. He also declared victory in uMngeni Local Municipality.
When
5 November 2026
Where
KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, eThekwini
Status
Reported

Related stories

Elections Hot

What you need to know

ActionSA's Kgadi Mogatusi is projected to win Ward 48 in Dobsonville, Soweto, the first time the ANC has lost that ward. The IEC said 15.9 million people voted in the local elections, and final results will come only after objections are dealt with, within seven days by law.

Early projections point to hung councils, with the CSIR projecting the DA to lead in Ekurhuleni, Joburg and Tshwane when 23% of Gauteng voting districts were declared. In KwaZulu-Natal, the MK Party led early counts, while the ANC chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli said the party's showing is below its own expectations.

Earlier, the IEC said about 106 of more than 800 party complaints remained open, and it cannot declare final results before 5pm on Friday.

  1. IEC tracker resolves more than 1,000 election cases
  2. IEC expects election results count to finish by the weekend
  3. ActionSA wins Dobsonville Ward 48 from the ANC

See every update

AI Hot

What you need to know

Uber said that in its busiest week last quarter, only 4 people booked a ride through an AI agent, and Nothing plans to sell an AI-first device in December. Earlier, unnamed critics accused Accenture of publishing an AI report with wrongly attributed research and apparently non-existent case studies, while CrowdStrike announced a deal of nearly $500 million for two AI security startups.

Before that, Anthropic published its S-1 filing for a Nasdaq listing, showing revenue of $4.6bn in 2025, and said it would commit close to $900bn to AI infrastructure. The VAST AI investment scheme, which recruited South Africans on social media, went offline on 30 October after approved withdrawals did not arrive, according to a news investigation.

In South Africa, the CSIR asked partners on 28 October to build a network to counter AI-driven fake content before the coming elections.

  1. Only 4 people booked Uber rides through an AI agent
  2. Nothing plans to launch AI-first device next month
  3. Accenture faces accusations over AI report with false citations

See every update

US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

US Vice-President JD Vance said in a post on X that the Iran war was the reason Republicans lost the midterm elections, and he questioned whether it was worth the cost. Democrats won the Senate with a majority of at least 54-44 and gained at least 30 House seats, according to one count, and party leaders said they would rein in President Donald Trump.

Trump said the war was needed to stop Tehran getting a nuclear weapon, though he admitted it contributed to his party's losses. Earlier, projections showed Democrats winning both chambers on 3 November, and exit polls showed voters angry about high prices and the direction of the country.

Before the vote, US forces struck Qeshm Island in Iran, and Trump said a deal with Iran could happen while also threatening to resume strikes.

  1. JSE surges and rand firms after Democratic midterm win
  2. Vance blames Iran war for Republican midterm losses
  3. Democrats win US midterms and vow to check Trump

See every update