The overwhelming majority of votes in the Local Government Election have now been finalised. For the first time, the ANC has dropped below 50% of the national vote.

The latest tally shows the ANC has dropped to just below 46% of the national vote, the DA 21.6% and the EFF in third with 10.3%.

In the Western Cape, the DA got about 55% of the vote across the province, with an outright majority in 9 councils including the Cape Town Metro.

There are at least 64 hung-councils in the country, including 16 in the province, which means coalitions will have to be formed.

Coalition talks will prove crucial in municipalities such as the City of Johannesburg, Tshwane, Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, George, and many others, as smaller parties might hold the key to control over these councils.

Meanwhile, Cape Town Mayor Elect Geordin Hill-Lewis has thanked residents for putting their trust in him and the DA for the next five years.

Hill-Lewis says the results in the Metro show that Capetonians have strongly affirmed the DA’s track record of delivering the best basic services to all residents.

He says crime and loadshedding are top of the list of issues he will tackle when he gets into office.

The 34 year old Hill Lewis will be inaugurated in the next two weeks – and become the youngest Mayor ever.

Visit the IEC’s Results Dashboard to see how each municipality and ward in the country performed.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is attending the official declaration of the results at 6pm today.

You can watch it live on the IEC’s Facebook Page.