Municipal council
Polokwane
No party has a majority
2026 results
Council seats
IEC-reported
Other25 seats23.9% of votes
Explain SA CoalitionsWhy team up? And why is it tricky?
A coalition is two or more parties agreeing to govern together. Here’s how it works in a council.
An imaginary council · 10 seats · 6 for a majority
Most seats ≠ a majority
SA’s election system gives different parties a share of the seats. Sometimes none wins more than half. That’s a hung council.
A is the biggest. Four still isn’t six.
Make a deal. Vote together.
Parties negotiate who leads and what to do. Councillors elect the mayor and vote on budgets. Partners stay separate parties, but agree to work together.
Party A4+Party C2=Together6Enough seats. Now agree on a plan.
Who leads · What gets funded · How to settle disputesThe deal has to hold
Partners can disagree over policies, jobs or spending. A small party can tip the balance. If support breaks down, budgets and decisions can stall.
6 / 10back the deal
↑ 6 needed. No seats to spare.
What if Party C leaves?
4 / 10still back the deal
↑ Still 6 needed. Now 2 short.
C keeps its seats. A needs new support to pass a budget.
Why six? A council budget needs support from more than half of all councillors. Other votes can follow different rules. Losing a partner doesn’t automatically remove a mayor.
Vote breakdown
Municipal PR votes
Other: show remaining parties: hide remaining parties27.4%47 598 votes
How the vote changed
Swipe to see history
Seats unavailable for this election.
37 for a majority · 73 seats
39 for a majority · 76 seats
46 for a majority · 90 seats
46 for a majority · 90 seats
46 for a majority · 90 seats
Swipe to see history
History data & sources
Ward + municipal PR votes. Connecting bands show the same party’s share or seats between elections, not individual voters moving between parties. Select a year to inspect its values; use the year selector in the results section to explore its places.
The chart names the five largest parties across these elections. The vote list also names parties gaining at least 2 percentage points since the previous election; remaining votes are combined under Other. Other’s change compares the same group of parties in both elections. Missing values remain unavailable.
- All points use the same ballot basis. Ballot totals are not counts of individual voters.
- IEC declared the 2026 results on 8 November 2026. Feed coverage and seat allocations are separate from the national declaration: missing figures remain missing and estimates remain estimates. Corrections and re-votes may follow.
- Missing or grouped party rows remain gaps unless a complete, ungrouped list establishes zero votes.
- Municipal boundaries can change between elections. Published area results are not boundary-adjusted.
Go closer
Find my wardFind your ward
Loading map…
Wards in Polokwane
45 wards
What is a ward?
One ward elects one councillor to the municipal council.
A part of a local or metro municipality. Its councillor represents residents on that council.
The ward candidate with the most votes wins, even with less than half the votes.
Winning a ward does not mean winning control of the whole council. The council also includes PR councillors.
IEC guide to council seatsLocal, district or metro?
Local councils and district councils share responsibilities. Metros combine both.
Handles local services such as refuse collection and local roads, with responsibilities shared with the district.
Coordinates planning and shared services across its area, such as bulk water infrastructure. Functions vary by area.
Combines local and district responsibilities. There is no separate district council above it.
A district municipality is a level of local government. A voting district is a small voting area; it has no council of its own.
CoGTA guide to local governmentLocal news
In the news
Election news · Polokwane
Since 4 November 2026 · From Google News
Loading headlines…
Sources & result details
IEC: 08 Nov 2026, 21:21 SAST · checked 09 Nov 2026, 10:47 SAST
IEC declared the 2026 results on 8 November 2026. Feed coverage and seat allocations are separate from the national declaration: missing figures remain missing and estimates remain estimates. Corrections and re-votes may follow. Reporting progress measures voting districts, not turnout.
Historical comparisons use published area results. Boundaries may change between elections. Vote shares use the ballot labelled on each chart; ballots are not individual voters.
Government comparisons use the confirmed pre-election administration when available, otherwise the latest dated record. The new government appears when its membership is confirmed. A retained or changed government requires confirmed records on both sides; seats alone cannot establish it.
Vote percentages beside council seats combine ward and municipal PR ballots. Seat counts include both ward and PR councillors.
Seat calculation & source
These are the ward and PR seats published by the IEC. The totals add up to all 90 council seats. IEC declared the 2026 results on 8 November 2026. Feed coverage and seat allocations are separate from the national declaration: missing figures remain missing and estimates remain estimates. Corrections and re-votes may follow. A seat majority does not establish a governing agreement or who will become mayor.
IEC result time: 08 Nov 2026, 21:21 SAST · Source figures ↗
Ward vs PR ballots
Ward: choose a person. PR: choose a party.
The candidate with the most votes in the whole ward wins one seat. They do not need more than 50%.
PR means proportional representation. Party-list seats balance the council’s overall party representation.
Party ward votes and municipal PR votes both count towards the party’s overall seat allocation.
Outside metros, voters also have a separate district PR ballot. An independent can stand in a ward but not on a party PR list.
IEC guide to council seats