EXPLAINER | Who won what in KZN as dust settles on local government vote

The ANC has won outright one metro and three out of the 10 district municipalities in KZN, in what is a significant blow to the party.

Provisional results announced by the IEC on Thursday revealed that while the ANC still held the majority of council seats across the province, it had only managed to win outright control in Ugu on the south coast, uMgungundlovu in the Midlands and Harry Gwala in southwest KZN.

These are traditional ANC strongholds, which it was able to retain in what has been an otherwise bitterly disappointing election — in KZN and elsewhere.

The IFP, on the other hand, was able to retain its Zululand district with a strong outright majority.

In eThekwini, the province's only metro, the ANC won with a heavily reduced majority of 42% of the vote.

This is the how the election played out in the province's 10 district municipalities:

• Zululand — IFP won uPhongolo and Ulundi local councils, while eDumbe, Abaqulusi and Nongoma were hung. The party retained the district;
• Ugu — ANC won uMdoni, uMzumbe, and Ray Nkonyeni local councils, while uMuziwabantu was hung. The party retained the district;
• uMgungundlovu — The DA had a historic win in the uMngeni local municipality, but the ANC won in the other councils, namely uMshwathi, Mpofana, Mpendle, uMsunduzi, Mkhambathini and Richmond. The ANC retained the district;
• Harry Gwala — The ANC won all four local councils, Greater Kokstad, uBuhlebezwe, uMzimkhulu and Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma. The party retained the district;

• King Cetshwayo — The IFP won the uMlalazi, Umfolozi and Nkandla local councils, while the City of uMhlathuze and Mthonjaneni municipalities were hung;
• Umkhanyakude — The IFP won the Jozini and Big 5 Hlabisa local councils, while uMhlabuyalingana and Mtubatuba are hung. The district was previously governed by the ANC;

• Uthukela — Results had not been released by the time of writing on Thursday night, as the IEC was waiting results for the Okhahlamba local municipality. The IFP had already won the Alfred Duma local municipality, while the Inkosi Langalibalele council remains hung;
• Amajuba — The Dannhauser, eMadlangeni and Newcastle local municipalities are all hung. This district was previously under the ANC;
• uMzinyathi — The IFP won the Nquthu and uMsinga local municipalities, while the Endumeni and Umvoti councils are hung. uMzinyathi was previously under the IFP in a coalition with the DA; and
• iLembe — The IFP won the Mandeni local council, while the ANC took majorities in KwaDukuza and Ndwedwe. The Maphumulo local municipality is hung. The district was previously under the ANC.

Overall, the ANC leads in the number of seat allocations per party at 784, and the IFP is the official opposition in local government at 522 seats. The DA came third. 

In KZN, 5.4-million voters were registered to vote at more than 23,000 stations. Seventy-eight parties contested the election, but only five contested all 901 wards across the province.

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