ActionSA leads 51 wards in Gauteng metros (provisional)

ActionSA is set to become the leading party in 51 wards across Gauteng’s three metropolitan municipalities in the 2026 local government elections, breaking into townships where the ANC has held dominance for decades, Daily Maverick reported. Official results data captured at 1pm on Friday, 6 November, recorded ActionSA leading 26 wards in Tshwane, 11 in Ekurhuleni and 14 in Johannesburg, with counting still under way.

The gains span communities including Soweto, Tembisa, Atteridgeville, Mabopane, Ivory Park and Hammanskraal. ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont told Daily Maverick the party was going to lead in 27 wards in Tshwane, 16 in Ekurhuleni and 11 in Johannesburg — a tally of 54 that exceeds the official figures captured at the time.

Ward-by-ward gains in Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg

In Tshwane, ActionSA’s expected wins include seven wards in Atteridgeville, plus wards in Ga-Rankuwa, Mabopane and Hammanskraal. In Ekurhuleni, the party was on track to win all nine wards in Tembisa, according to Beaumont, and also performed strongly around Daveyton and in parts of Katlehong. In Johannesburg, where ActionSA won 16% of the vote in 2021 without securing a single ward, the party was on track to take about eight wards in Soweto, according to Beaumont, along with strong showings around Ivory Park and in Ward 124, which covers Selby, Booysens and Springfield.

ANC ward representation falls sharply from 2021

The provisional results show the ANC’s ward tally declining substantially across all three metros. In Johannesburg, its ward count dropped from 87 in 2021 to 44 in the latest snapshot. In Ekurhuleni it fell from 78 to 26, and in Tshwane from 70 to 29, according to the official data reported by Daily Maverick.

Mashaba credits voters and distances party from the DA

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba told eNCA the party’s base—whom he called the 'forgotten people of South Africa'—has spoken at the polls, and the results show a turning point for the six-year-old party after its 2024 realignment. Mashaba thanked voters in areas including Orange Farm and Alexandra and blamed 32 years of ANC corruption and mismanagement for failing communities. Asked about coalitions in Gauteng, he rejected singling out the Democratic Alliance, telling eNCA: “You remember 2024, I came here and took you into confidence and admitted that the biggest mistake we made in 2024 was our association with the DA… When we talk about coalitions, let’s talk about all parties; the DA is not special to us.”

Vote shares and the message behind the result

EWN reported that ActionSA had garnered 16.8% of the vote in the City of Johannesburg, 22.4% in Tshwane and 16.29% in Ekurhuleni at the time of the count. Beaumont told EWN the party had spent much of the campaign urging voters to make their voices heard at the ballot box, saying: “It is not the case that we’re gonna take credit for these numbers; the people of South Africa deserve that credit… if we don’t deliver, we’ll be out.”

Counting continues; final ward tally still open

The discrepancy between Beaumont’s claimed 54 wards and the 51 wards reflected in official data at 1pm on 6 November remained unresolved as results were still being captured. With results still being captured, the gap between ActionSA’s provisional ward tally and its chairperson’s figure will determine the scale of the shift in Gauteng’s political landscape — and how much room the ANC retains to govern the province’s townships.

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