SAFRICA-ELECTION/ (UPDATE 2, PIX, TV):UPDATE 2-ANC narrowly leads DA

South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) led in early results from municipal elections on Thursday but with a sharply reduced share of the vote, although counting was still at a preliminary stage and the picture could change significantly.



With around 12% of votes counted by 0424 GMT, the ANC had about 32% of the vote, narrowly ahead of the Democratic Alliance (DA) on 31%, results from the election commission showed.



The outcome will help shape the political landscape ahead of the 2029 national election and could influence the succession battle within the ANC as President Cyril Ramaphosa nears the end of his term as party leader in 2027.



The early tally in the municipal elections may not mirror the final results, with only a small proportion of districts reporting in populous Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, home to some of the country's biggest cities.



But a projection given by South Africa's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research suggested the ANC could end up in the final tally with the same percentage of votes as it has now.