Mbeki predicts rise in hung municipalities as Ntshavheni questions foreigners voting

· Citizen

Former president Thabo Mbeki has warned that South Africa could see more hung municipalities after the 2026 local government elections, citing growing political fragmentation and uncertainty about the country’s future direction.

Mbeki made the remarks after casting his vote at Killarney Country Club in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, when he was asked to reflect on what had gone wrong in the country.

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Mbeki points to political fragmentation

Acknowledging the challenges faced by citizens, the former president highlighted that the issues were too extensive to unpack during his brief engagement with the media.

However, he noted that growing dissatisfaction among voters was reflected in the increasingly fragmented political landscape.

“That’s too long a story to tell. We can’t tell that story [now], but things have gone wrong, and you see the population is also saying that.

“That’s why you find a lot of fragmentation in terms of the voting and a lot of political parties,” he told reporters.

Mbeki also expressed his view about the likelihood of more municipalities failing to secure an outright political majority.

“As a result, what we are going to see is what the polls are predicting.

“I think they’re correct that we are going to have a lot of hung local municipalities because of this uncertainty about where the country and municipalities should go,” Mbeki remarked.

He further argued that discussions about municipal budgets and other administrative matters should not take precedence over addressing the country’s longstanding socio-economic challenges.

Watch video of Mbeki at voting station below:

Former president Thabo Mbeki casts his vote at the Killarney Country Club in Johannesburg on 4 November 2026. Video: Nigel Sibanda / The Citizen

Increase in hung municipalities

A hung council occurs when no political party secures more than 50% of the seats, making coalition agreements necessary to form an administration.

The prospect of more hung municipalities comes against the backdrop of the African National Congress (ANC) losing control of several key municipalities over the past decade.

These include Nelson Mandela Bay, Johannesburg and Tshwane, where the absence of outright majorities left councils dependent on coalition arrangements to govern.

The number of hung councils across South Africa’s 257 municipalities has increased substantially, rising from 29 in 2000 to just over 60 in 2021.

In the 2021 local government elections, no party secured a majority in 66 municipalities, more than double the number recorded in the 2016 elections.

Ntshavheni dismisses claims that foreign nationals can vote

Meanwhile, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has dismissed claims that foreign nationals are eligible vote in the elections.

“Only South Africans with South African IDs can vote. Foreign nationals will be here on permits and visas [so] they are not eligible to vote.

“Illegal foreign nationals cannot be documented in South Africa, so they cannot vote; it is only South Africans who are voting who have their green barcoded IDs or smart cards.

“We are calling upon those who have lost their IDs to go directly to Home Affairs offices to get temporary IDs so that they can vote,” Ntshavheni told the media at a voting station in Pretoria.

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