2026 Municipal Elections: Leading party by Metro
Metropolitan municipalities were the most highly contested areas in the recently concluded 2026 local government elections in South Africa. This is because the largest population of South Africa is concentrated in cities, which are obviously in metropolitan areas.
Continue reading as we take a look at the leading political parties in the eight metropolitan municipalities of South Africa, namely: Buffalo City, City of Cape Town, City of Ekurhuleni, City of Johannesburg, City of Tshwane, eThekwini, Mangaung, and Nelson Mandela Bay.
Please note that we are only listing one political party: the top party – the one that received the biggest number of votes.
Buffalo City
- Political party: African National Congress (ANC)
- Votes: 208,573
- Percentage: 41.93%
- Seats won: 42
City of Cape Town
- Political party: Democratic Alliance (DA)
- Votes: 1,304,818
- Percentage: 56.42%
- Seats won: 133
City of Ekurhuleni
- Political party: Democratic Alliance (DA)
- Votes: 544,749
- Percentage: 30.68%
- Seats won: 66
City of Johannesburg
- Political party: Democratic Alliance (DA)
- Votes: 867,068
- Percentage: 34.79%
- Seats won: 91
City of Tshwane
- Political party: Democratic Alliance (DA)
- Votes: 615,694
- Percentage: 34.37%
- Seats won: 74
eThekwini
- Political party: Umkhonto Wesizwe Party (MKP)
- Votes: 773,086
- Percentage: 38.29%
- Seats won: 86
Mangaung
- Political party: African National Congress (ANC)
- Votes: 152,106
- Percentage: 33.91%
- Seats won: 35
Nelson Mandela Bay
- Political party: Democratic Alliance (DA)
- Votes: 289,529
- Percentage: 44.17%
- Seats won: 53
ALSO READ:
➜ Top 12 political parties in South Africa’s 2026 local government elections
➜ Democratic Alliance wins Western Cape in the 2026 Municipal Elections
