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Parliament committees satisfied with IEC election preparations

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Ongoing: Elections Hot

Three Parliamentary committees say they are satisfied with the Electoral Commission of South Africa's readiness for next month's local government elections. They reached this view after an oversight visit to the commission's headquarters on Monday.

The visit was made by the Portfolio Committees on Home Affairs and on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. The Select Committee on Security and Justice also took part. They went to assess how ready the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is.

Mosa Chabane chairs the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs. He said: "We are confident that the preparations are under way." He also said the committees are confident the IEC will respond to the measures put in place.

Chabane said work to carry out the Constitutional Court judgment is under way. He said concerns were raised. He added that the areas the IEC raised need a collective effort.

Key facts

Who
Mosa Chabane (Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs); Electoral Commission of South Africa (Election management body whose readiness was assessed); Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs (Parliamentary committee conducting oversight visit); Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Parliamentary committee conducting oversight visit)
What
The Portfolio Committees on Home Affairs and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the Select Committee on Security and Justice conducted an oversight visit to the IEC headquarters to assess its readiness and say they are satisfied. Committee chairperson Mosa Chabane says they are confident the IEC will respond to measures put in place.
When
26 October 2026
Where
South Africa, Centurion, Gauteng
Status
Reported

Elections Hot

What you need to know

Voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections is under way at 23,696 stations, and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) reported a smooth start on 4 November. Stations opened at 7am and close at 9pm, and by 10am preliminary figures showed 3,523,691 voters had cast ballots.

There were problems: unused ballot papers were stolen from Mnyameni Secondary School near Durban, police opened a case, and the IEC relieved the station staff of duty. Some voters in Tshwane said they were turned away for wearing party shirts, but the IEC denied this and said only mayoral candidates' entourages were barred.

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe told members not to query the results or discredit the IEC, while the IEC said false online claims show routine procedures as fraud.

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Before the vote, US forces struck targets on Qeshm Island in Iran, while Republicans struggled to defend the war against Iran on the campaign trail. Iranian officials said US voters rejected the war, and Tehran stayed on high alert for possible new US strikes.

Markets reacted, with the dollar hitting a one-month low and the rand firming to around R16.55, as analysts pointed to fears of gridlock in Washington.

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Elsewhere, reports from unnamed sources say OpenAI's latest funding round is falling short of expectations, and a judge let the NAACP pollution case against xAI proceed. In South Africa, the VAST AI investment scheme went offline on 30 October after withdrawals marked approved did not arrive, according to a news investigation.

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