In the by-elections held on Wednesday, 18 March 2026, the African National Congress (ANC) retained their seats in the Buffalo City and the Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Municipalities in the Eastern Cape and lost a seat in the Dr Beyers Naude Municipality. In KwaZulu-Natal, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) retained their seat in Nongoma ward 20, won seats in Nongoma ward 07 and in the Abaqulusi Municipality.
The new councillors are as follows:
Eastern Cape
The new ANC Councillors are:
• Thembinkosi Sobende in Ward 32 in the Buffalo City Municipality, BUF. The party retained the seat it won in the 2021 Municipal Elections with 80.03% of the total votes cast, compared to 67.86% in the 2021 Municipal Elections. Voter turnout was 42.99%.
• Nceba Mtyana in Ward 14 in the Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Municipality, EC443. The party retained the seat it won in the 2021 Municipal Elections with 63.05% of the total votes cast, compared to 65.40% in the 2021 Municipal Elections. Voter turnout was 39.15%.
The new Patriotic Alliance (PA) Councillor is:
• Nathan Angus Vavian Jacobs in Ward 07 in the Dr Beyers Naude Municipality, EC101. The party won the seat with 40.19% of the total votes cast compared to 46.33% previously held by the ANC in the 2021 Municipal Elections. Voter turnout was 60.78%.
KwaZulu-Natal
The new IFP Councillors are:
• Mandlaphezulu Perfect Khanyi in Ward 20 in the Nongoma Local Municipality, KZN265. The party retained their seat with 46.96% of the total votes cast compared to 37.93% in the 2021 Municipal Elections. Voter turnout was 46.66%.
• Zamokuhle Ivy Mtshali in Ward 07 in the Nongoma Local Municipality, KZN265. The party won the seat with 54.65% of the total votes cast compared to 52.82% previously held by the National Freedom Party (NFP) in the 2021 Municipal Elections. Voter turnout was 49.36%.
• Thulani Patrick Buthelezi in Ward 12 in the AbaQulusi Local Municipality, KZN263. The party won the seat with 62.95% of the total votes cast compared to 58.21% previously held by the African National Congress in the 2021 Municipal Elections. Voter turnout was 50.46%.
ISSUED
BY THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION
Ensuring free, fair and credible
elections
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