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MK Party may go to Electoral Court over Ethekwini vote

Published

Ongoing: Elections Hot

The MK Party says it will accept the outcome only if the elections are proven free and fair. It has raised concerns about the process in Ethekwini, where it appears unlikely to win an outright majority.

The party has not ruled out taking its complaints about alleged irregularities to the Electoral Court. It said this could happen if its objections are not properly addressed before results are declared on Sunday night.

Dali Mpofu, who speaks for the MK Party, warned the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) against rushing to declare the results. The party announced a negotiating team on Saturday.

Key facts

Who
Dali Mpofu (MK Party representative who warned the IEC against rushing to declare results); MK Party (political party raising election irregularity complaints); IEC (electoral body expected to announce results on Sunday)
What
The MK Party says it will only accept the outcome if the elections are proven free and fair, and it has raised concerns about the electoral process in Ethekwini, where it appears unlikely to win an outright majority. The party announced a negotiating team on Saturday and Dali Mpofu warned the IEC against rushing to declare results.
When
8 November 2026
Where
Durban, Ethekwini
Status
Reported

Elections Hot

What you need to know

The Electoral Commission will announce the final 2026 local election results on Sunday evening, with more than 100 municipal councils hung. Earlier, with almost all votes counted, the ANC's national share had fallen to just over 30%, down from 45.59% in 2021.

The commission had received 197 objections by 3pm on Saturday, dismissed 54, upheld two and ordered recounts in five wards. The ANC in Sedibeng says it found more than 32,000 voter records without addresses and is preparing an Electoral Court challenge, while the MK Party says it may also go to court.

Coalition talks now loom, as the DA won 53 seats in Nelson Mandela Bay but needs partners, and the SACP says it will set strict conditions for backing the ANC.

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What you need to know

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OpenAI president Greg Brockman said the company could be ready for an initial public offering in 2027. Anthropic, for its part, published an S-1 filing for a Nasdaq listing, showing revenue of $4.6bn in 2025 and a net loss of $80.7bn in the first half of 2026.

Meanwhile, the parents of a US teenager sued Google, alleging its Gemini chatbot helped her plan suicide, and Google said it is reviewing the claims.

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US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

The US justice department has dropped its bid to stop California counting mail-in ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters, after Democrats won comfortably in the state. Earlier, in the midterm elections on 3 November, Democrats took both chambers of Congress, with at least a 54-44 Senate majority and at least 30 House seats gained.

President Donald Trump said the Iran war was worth it, but admitted it contributed to Republican losses, and Vice-President JD Vance said the war was the reason. Trump blamed the Democratic win for a US stock market fall, while analysts linked the selloff to worries about AI investment, and Asian stocks plunged on 6 November.

In South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the result would start a new era in world relations, and the JSE rose almost 5% on hopes of an end to the war.

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