At 1448 GMT, the rand traded at 15.4650 against the dollar, 0.1% weaker than its previous close, losing some ground it had gained earlier in the day. The currency fell to 15.4925 on Tuesday, its weakest since early March.
Partial results from Monday's municipal elections showed the ruling African National Congress (ANC) on 46% of the vote with three quarters of results in, meaning it looked almost certain to get less than 50% of votes for the first time in any election since it ended white minority rule in 1994.
Such a result could weaken the hand of President Cyril Ramaphosa and dent his efforts to drive reforms.
The rand was, as always, also being moved by global factors. Internationally, markets are watching a meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve later on Wednesday, when it is expected to approve plans to scale back pandemic-era stimulus.
"Ahead of this, the local unit is likely to trade cautiously, as has been the case of late," Nedbank analysts said of the rand in a note.
Higher rates in developed countries often drain capital away from higher-yielding but riskier emerging markets such as South Africa, weighing on their currencies.
Stocks, however, rose, with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange's Top-40 Index climbing 1.18% to 61,877 points and the broader All-Share Index closing up 1.19% to 68,587 points.
Shares in pharamcist Dis-Chem ended the day 5.56% higher after its half-year results showed a 35.5% jump in earnings.
In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark 2030 government bond was up 4 basis points to 9.670%.
(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Emma Rumney; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Andrew Cawthorne)
