Wednesday 4 November 2026 · Updated 06:25
ANALYSISElections

Emfuleni elections 2026: the wards to watch in Vereeniging, Sebokeng and Vanderbijlpark

No party won a majority on the Emfuleni council in 2021. Here is the seat count, where the smaller parties are strongest, and what happens after the vote, with links to our ward-by-ward guides.

By Staff Reporter · Published

A blue IEC 'Voting station' sign with an arrow on a mesh fence, with IEC tape in the foreground
File photo: voting station signage in Cape Town for the 2026 local government elections. Illustrative: not an Emfuleni voting station. Photo: Husskeyy / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Figures are as at 3 November 2026. Ward results are official IEC figures from the 2021 local government elections unless stated.

Emfuleni goes to the polls on Wednesday 4 November 2026. Voting stations are open from 07:00 to 21:00, after special votes on 2 and 3 November.1 This is the overview for our three-part guide to the wards to watch, based on the IEC’s ward results.2

This story will be updated as IEC results come in.

Why it matters
  • No party has a majority. The ANC won 38 of 45 wards in 2021 with 39.7% of the vote. Its ward wins exceeded its proportional share, so it got no proportional representation (PR) seats, eight short of a majority.3
  • Many wards were won narrowly. By our count, 21 of the ANC’s 38 wards were won with less than 50%. In 2016 it won 50 seats with 55.6%.2,4
  • The mayor changed this year. Sipho Radebe (ANC) was elected mayor in November 2021 by 47 votes to 43.5 He survived a motion of no confidence in February 2025.6 On 29 May 2026 the ANC announced that it had recalled him as mayor, and he submitted his resignation to the council speaker on 2 June.7,8,9 Hassan Mako (ANC) was elected mayor on 10 June 2026.10
  • Intervention: a section 139(5) financial-recovery intervention has been in place since 2018.11
At a glance

Emfuleni council, 2021 result (90 seats; 46 for a majority)3

Party Votes (ward + PR) Share Ward seats PR seats Total seats
ANC 119,945 39.7% 38 0 38
DA 81,291 26.9% 7 17 24
EFF 47,089 15.6% 0 14 14
FF Plus 19,466 6.4% 0 6 6
PAC 5,794 1.9% 0 2 2
Community Solidarity Association 4,998 1.7% 0 2 2
New Horizon Movement 3,851 1.3% 0 1 1
ACDP 2,671 0.9% 0 1 1
Vaal Alternative Alliance Lekgotla 2,273 0.8% 0 1 1
Patriotic Alliance 1,547 0.5% 0 1 1
  • Turnout in 2021 was 44.3% of 351,544 registered voters.12
  • Since 2021: after the Ward 28 by-election in May 2026, the ANC holds 37 seats and the DA 25.13
  • On the 2026 ballot: the IEC’s certified list has 1,559 ward candidates in Emfuleni’s 45 wards, from 49 parties and 11 independents. Twenty-four parties have a candidate in every ward.14
Key points: the smaller parties

Only the ANC and the DA won wards in 2021. All the other parties’ seats are PR seats.3

Party 2021 seats (all PR) Came second in (2021) Best 2021 ward share By-elections since 2021 2026 ward ballots (of 45)
EFF 14 25 wards 37.8%, Ward 1715 About 12% in Ward 28, 202613 45
FF Plus 6 Wards 1, 4, 5, 9, 10 36.3%, Ward 516 Did not stand 45
PAC 2 Ward 39 26.7%, Ward 3917 About 6% in Ward 2813 45
Community Solidarity Association 2 None 7.9%, Ward 2718 Did not stand Not on the list
New Horizon Movement 1 None 6.9%, Ward 2119 Did not stand Not on the list
ACDP 1 None 2.5%, Wards 8 and 4020,21 Did not stand 19
Vaal Alternative Alliance Lekgotla 1 None 2.3%, Ward 4222 Did not stand Not on the list
Patriotic Alliance 1 None 14.1%, Ward 1623 32.6%, second, Ward 16, 202424 38
MK Not on 2021 ballot – – About 21%, second, Ward 35, 202525 37
SACP Not on 2021 ballot – – About 3% in Ward 2813 45
ActionSA Not on 2021 ballot – – Did not stand 45

By-elections were held in Ward 16 (2024), Ward 35 (2025) and Ward 28 (2026).24,25,13 The 2026 column is from the IEC’s certified list.14

What to watch on election night
  • Majority or hung council: whether any party reaches a majority, or Emfuleni is hung again.3
  • Turnout: it was 44.3% in 2021.12 The Ward 35 and Ward 28 by-elections drew 36.97% and 35.79%.26,27
  • Close wards: Ward 16 and Ward 15 in Vereeniging, Wards 31 and 17 in Sebokeng, and Wards 23 and 3 in Vanderbijlpark were each decided by fewer than 400 votes in 2021.23,28,29,15,30,31
  • New boundaries: several wards have been redrawn since 2021.32
What happens next
  • Results: the IEC must declare the results within seven days of voting day. It can ask the Electoral Court for more time.33,34
  • Seats: ward winners are seated first, then PR seats are shared out so each party’s total reflects its vote share.35 The IEC’s 2026 seat calculation will confirm the council’s size.
  • First sitting: the municipal manager must call the first council meeting within 14 days of the council being declared elected. In 2016 this ran from the gazetting of results.35,36
  • Speaker and mayor: councillors elect a speaker first, by secret ballot if there is more than one candidate. An executive mayor must be elected within 14 days of the council’s election, with the speaker presiding.35,37
In this series

This story will be updated as IEC results come in.

Sources
  1. 2026 Local Government Elections timetable, Electoral Commission of South Africa
  2. Municipal election results downloads (ward results summaries, Emfuleni wards 1–45, LGE 2016 and 2021), Electoral Commission of South Africa
  3. Seat calculation detail, Emfuleni, LGE 2021, Electoral Commission of South Africa
  4. Seat calculation detail, Emfuleni, LGE 2016, Electoral Commission of South Africa
  5. Meet the new mayor for Emfuleni, Sedibeng Ster (22 November 2021)
  6. Embattled Emfuleni mayor Sipho Radebe survives motion of no confidence, News24 (20 February 2025)
  7. The African National Congress recalls Cde Sipho Radebe as executive mayor of Emfuleni, ANC (@MYANC) on X (29 May 2026)
  8. Sipho Radebe recalled as Emfuleni Mayor over governance failures, IOL (30 May 2026)
  9. ANC starts search for Emfuleni mayor after Radebe resigns, Sowetan (2 June 2026)
  10. Mako elected ELM mayor, Sedibeng Ster (10 June 2026)
  11. NCOP written reply 64: section 139 intervention in Emfuleni, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, via PMG (September 2024)
  12. Emfuleni: 2021 local election results (IEC data), ESP
  13. DA makes history with first Gauteng township ward victory in Evaton West, Daily Maverick (28 May 2026)
  14. Certified list of candidates as supplemented, LGE 2026, Gauteng (GT421 Emfuleni entries), Electoral Commission of South Africa (23 October 2026)
  15. Results summary, Emfuleni Ward 17, LGE 2021, Electoral Commission of South Africa
  16. Results summary, Emfuleni Ward 5, LGE 2021, Electoral Commission of South Africa
  17. Results summary, Emfuleni Ward 39, LGE 2021, Electoral Commission of South Africa
  18. Results summary, Emfuleni Ward 27, LGE 2021, Electoral Commission of South Africa
  19. Results summary, Emfuleni Ward 21, LGE 2021, Electoral Commission of South Africa
  20. Results summary, Emfuleni Ward 8, LGE 2021, Electoral Commission of South Africa
  21. Results summary, Emfuleni Ward 40, LGE 2021, Electoral Commission of South Africa
  22. Results summary, Emfuleni Ward 42, LGE 2021, Electoral Commission of South Africa
  23. Results summary, Emfuleni Ward 16, LGE 2021, Electoral Commission of South Africa
  24. ANC retains Emfuleni Ward 16, Vaalweekblad (14 March 2024)
  25. ANC narrowly retains Emfuleni’s Ward 35 in closely contested by-election, Vaalweekblad (24 July 2025)
  26. Results of municipal by-elections held on 23 July 2025, Electoral Commission of South Africa
  27. Results of municipal by-elections held on 27 May 2026, Electoral Commission of South Africa
  28. Results summary, Emfuleni Ward 15, LGE 2021, Electoral Commission of South Africa
  29. Results summary, Emfuleni Ward 31, LGE 2021, Electoral Commission of South Africa
  30. Results summary, Emfuleni Ward 23, LGE 2021, Electoral Commission of South Africa
  31. Results summary, Emfuleni Ward 3, LGE 2021, Electoral Commission of South Africa
  32. Emfuleni 2026 wards, with overlaps to 2021 wards (Municipal Demarcation Board and IEC boundaries), ESP
  33. Local Government: Municipal Electoral Act 27 of 2000 (section 64), LawLibrary
  34. Factsheet: counting, Electoral Commission of South Africa
  35. Local Government: Municipal Structures Act 117 of 1998 (sections 29 and 55, schedules 1 and 3), SAFLII
  36. Municipal managers have 14 days within which to call first council meetings, Department of Cooperative Governance, gov.za (16 August 2016)
  37. What happens after the vote? Councils, coalitions and (maybe) controversies, Daily Maverick (1 November 2026)

Forecasts mentioned

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