Ongoing

  1. ElectionsHot
  2. US mid-termsHeating up
  3. AICooling
NewsbriefSouth Africa, briefly.
JoburgJHB29°69%
CTCT21°90%
PretoriaPTA33°75%
DurbanDBN30°20°

Trust in local government falls to 27% in Western Cape

Published

A Human Sciences Research Council survey commissioned by the IEC found Western Cape support for democracy fell to 46% from 57% in 2015. Trust in local government was 37% in 2003.

The 2026 Voter Participation Survey also measured trust in other institutions in the Western Cape. It found 25% trust in Parliament and 20% trust in national government. Gauteng had the lowest support for democracy, at 28%.

Derek Davids, chief research specialist at the council, spoke at an IEC stakeholder event on Wednesday. He said the Western Cape figure for democracy "remains the highest throughout the country". He said the findings show people are not happy with what they get at the coalface of service delivery.

Michael Hendrickse, the IEC provincial electoral officer for the Western Cape, said the commission is preparing ballot papers. This follows a Constitutional Court ruling in the ANC's favour on candidate lists. He said ballot papers will be ready when special voting starts on 2 November.

Hendrickse said: "I think we are as ready as can be in terms of our preparations." Thirty-three parties could not submit candidates on time and got a chance to submit names. Eight Western Cape municipalities were affected by late additions.

Key facts

Who
Derek Davids (chief research specialist, Human Sciences Research Council); Michael Hendrickse (IEC provincial electoral officer, Western Cape); Human Sciences Research Council (conducted the 2026 Voter Participation Survey); Electoral Commission of South Africa (commissioned the survey and runs the elections)
What
The Human Sciences Research Council's 2026 Voter Participation Survey, commissioned by the IEC, found low institutional trust in local government in the Western Cape and declining support for democracy. The IEC Western Cape also said it was preparing ballot papers after a Constitutional Court ruling in the ANC's favour on candidate lists.
When
21 October 2026
Where
Western Cape, Cape Town, Drakenstein
Status
Reported

Related stories

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.

  1. BOSA's Solomons flags one-ballot problem at Cape Town voting stations
  2. Mashatile urges new councillors to put voters first
  3. IEC dismisses MK Party worry about dead people on voters' roll

See every update

US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

Democrats won back both the US House and Senate in the midterm elections held on 3 November, according to media projections. Exit polls showed voters were angry about high prices and the direction of the country, and rebuked President Donald Trump.

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.

  1. Iran welcomes Democratic wins in US midterm elections
  2. Democrats win US Congress in midterm vote, projections show
  3. Ramaphosa wants US trade deal after AGOA suspension

See every update

AI Cooling

What you need to know

Nvidia has told its cloud computing clients to sell at least 51% of their services to non-Chinese companies, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. Anthropic said it has committed to spend close to $900bn on AI infrastructure, and that its computing costs are rising faster than its revenues.

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.

  1. Accenture faces accusations over AI report with false citations
  2. CrowdStrike to buy two AI security startups
  3. Google lets schools turn off AI tools but limits Search

See every update