GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - The Garden Route is awaiting the outcome of the 2026 local government elections, with election officials counting and verifying ballots throughout the night.
Speaking from the Western Cape Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) results centre at Century City in Cape Town, DA provincial leader Tertuis Simmers said he expected all Garden Route results to be available by early this afternoon, provided the process continued smoothly.
“Here and there we had logistical problems, but the IEC addressed these quickly. There were abnormally long queues at some voting stations, but this was a good problem. It seems voters realised that this is a very important election,” he said.
Simmers said there had been excellent voter turnout in traditionally coloured and white communities, while Xhosa-speaking communities had also shown good participation.
“People were waiting in some areas for two to three hours, but it is because people got the message that this is a very important election to keep chaos out of our councils.”
By 05:20 this morning, almost 247 of the 1 623 voting districts in the province's non-metropolitan areas had been counted.
Simmers said the IEC's provincial electoral officer, Michael Hendrickse, had reported at 21:00 last night that approximately 20 000 more votes had been counted than at the same time during the 2021 local government elections, when some voting stations were still open.
Garden Route District Municipality mayor Marais Kruger said he was satisfied with voter turnout and the overall performance of the IEC, although he raised concerns about the counting process at Ward 4 in Denneoord, where he is also the ward councillor.
According to Kruger, counting continued from 22:00 until after 05:00, followed by a recount.
“We counted throughout the night and had to do a recount. It was very unorganised and I will be lodging an official complaint with the IEC,” he said.
He nevertheless described election day as very successful, apart from his experience at the Ward 4 counting station.
“South Africans, especially those in the Western Cape and Garden Route, came out in their numbers. It is good to know that people take this seriously because it is their future. I feel they made a more informed decision,” he said.
As counting and verification continue, the IEC's Results Leaderboard provides ongoing updates on the results.
The final outcome will determine the political leadership of the region's municipalities for the next five years.
Follow the results throughout the day: Group Editors publications will provide ongoing coverage as the IEC releases and verifies results. Readers can follow the latest developments, including results from individual municipalities and wards, on the Group Editors websites.
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