ANC faces coalition scramble after electoral rout as control of key metros slips away

With councils due to convene within 14 days, the ANC must choose between coalition deals, opposition and uneasy partnerships to retain municipal influence.

LIVE | Some senior ANC leaders didn’t campaign, says Fikile Mbalula

Ballot counting is under way after South Africans voted in the local elections on 4 November, 2026. Follow our live coverage from the Results Operations Centres across the country as the count continues.

‘Our people are angry’ — MK party threatens to challenge election results

The uMkhonto Wesizwe party has warned that it could approach the Electoral Court of South Africa over alleged irregularities in the 2026 local government elections.

Ups and downs

Blue landslide in US gives SA hope — but Trump still has sharp teeth

Democratic control of the US Congress could help South Africa to repair its strained relations with Washington, but the cornered president retains power over foreign policy — and he may well use it.

Malema blames GNU cooperation for EFF losing support to the DA

EFF leader Julius Malema says voters questioned why they should not support the DA at the ballot box when the ANC itself was willing to work with the party and give it positions in government.

Nine-try Springboks blitz Italy in Turin to set Nations Championship pace

The Springboks scored a record 66-7 (halftime 45-0) away win over Italy in a Nations Championship match in Turin on Saturday.

How to check local election results for your municipality and ward

Find live 2026 local election results for your municipality, ward and the metros, see which councils are hung so far and find out when the IEC is expected to declare the final count.

MK party takes four KZN municipalities from ANC as governance test looms

The people of KwaZulu-Natal will get the first real taste of the uMkhonto Wesizwe party’s leadership as it looks set to govern a number of municipalities for the first time.

ActionSA takes township wards from the ANC in Gauteng

ActionSA will likely merge as the second-largest party in Tshwane and the third-largest in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni. See where they’ve grown since 2021.

DA projected to win 79% in Ramaphosa and Malema’s Joburg home ward

In interviews with the DA’s federal leader Ashor Sarupen, ActionSA’s Funzi Ngobeni and the ANC’s deputy secretary-general, Nomvula Mokonyane, we assess the future of Johannesburg’s governance as the results start to land.

The voting is over, meet the power brokers who will negotiate your city’s coalition

More than 100 municipalities could be governed by coalitions. These party leaders will probably decide who runs them.

From ActionSA to MK, what Gauteng’s top parties will demand in coalition talks

With outright majorities out of reach across Gauteng’s metros, the province’s top six parties are outlining their non-negotiables for coalition agreements.

DA needs FF+, Knysna Civic Association to govern troubled coastal town

Southern Cape tourism hub Knysna remains a hung council, as the DA failed to make sufficient gains for outright control in the 4 November local elections. The seaside town is one of the 19 councils, representing some three-quarters of the Western Cape’s 25 councils, where the DA on Friday afternoon, 6 November, was in the lead but not in control.

New franchise models are expanding business ownership in South Africa and beyond

From digital pizza stores to independent coffee bikes and micro-franchises, entrepreneurs are reshaping franchise models to widen access and reflect local markets.

Watch — The ANC could be left with no metros, projections show

Watch — The ANC could be left with no metros, projections show

Mom demands answers after school bullying leads to tragic teen suicide

After surviving a traumatic sexual assault, 16-year-old Thembelihle Mbatha transferred schools to rebuild her life. Instead, relentless bullying at school and unheeded cries for help led to her death by suicide. Months later, her grieving family is still waiting for an official report from a school that has a history of student suicides.

Sies for Sisisi’s creative accounting and the cat with crocodile tears

It’s been a wild time for statecraft as a paper trail leads us to a minister’s game, dumbbells ring for JZ, Mbalula blubs, the head of the police pulls a Terminator and Carrim does that which is haram.

The night the Maga fever broke and the moral arc bent back towards justice

From Mississippi to Texas, voters rejected Trump’s racial politics, immigration crackdown and billionaire-backed Republicans, reshaping the American political landscape ahead of the 2028 presidential election.

Watch — Judge Navi Pillay on the Nobel peace prize and international justice

Watch — Judge Navi Pillay on the Nobel peace prize and international justice

Cape Town data centre developers say objectors misunderstand the hustle

Unpacking the rebuttal for the appeal to the Cape Town Municipal Planning Tribunal approval for the Equinix data centres near the airport raises more questions than answers.

Why is rent so expensive in Cape Town, and would rent control help?

Rent in Cape Town keeps climbing, and its Airbnbs keep multiplying. Politically Aweh set out to figure out why it’s so expensive, and spoke to the Rent Control Group. Deputy Mayor Eddie Andrews, meanwhile, says there’s ‘no chance’ of rent control — ‘market goes where market goes’.

Signed, the People

African climate voices demand fair funding and influence before COP31

The winds, drought and excessive rains of climate change are blowing in Africa and it’s time for the Global North to listen and deliver on its climate finance promises. At COP31 in T u rkey, which runs from 9-20 November, African countries will need greater weight in decision-making, access to grants and support for solutions that meet their development priorities.

Cristiano Ronaldo retires from international soccer — one of sport’s all-time greats

Enigmatic Cristiano Ronaldo walks away from the international soccer arena under a bit of a cloud after clashing with the national team coach. However, the Portuguese forward’s exceptional sporting record speaks for itself.

Boks’ superior depth could prove decisive in Nations Championship title race

With a number of leading teams missing some key players, the Springboks are ideally placed to mount a really strong bid for glory in the tournament.

Baobab trees seized in Durban ship warehouse probe

Criminal charges have been laid after officials in Durban halted the shipping of several specially protected South African baobab trees, allegedly destined for a ‘landscaping project’ in the Black Sea nation of Georgia.

The varsity research subsidy game is up — the education department must not back down

The higher education minister’s latest communique takes aim at hyper-publication, predatory journals and rent-an-affiliation deals. Some universities seem rattled. His department must stand firm.

US voters have not handed us a mandate, we have work to do

South Africa cannot afford a government so pleased by Trump’s setback that it mistakes it for the resolution of its difficulties.