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BOSA's Solomons flags one-ballot problem at Cape Town voting stations

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Ongoing: Elections Hot

Build One South Africa (BOSA) mayoral candidate Roger Solomons said two BOSA candidates received only one ballot during special voting, although both were registered. He said the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) later issued a directive to fix the problem.

Solomons said some BOSA candidates were refused a second ballot even though they were on the voters' roll. He said the IEC could give them only one ballot. He said anyone registered to vote should get two ballots.

Solomons said the IEC then issued a directive that nobody may receive only one ballot. This is his account of the directive.

The IEC in the Western Cape said it had cleared the logistical backlogs from the first two days of special voting. Printing delays left over 200 voting stations without ballot papers on Monday morning.

Key facts

Who
Roger Solomons (Build One South Africa (BOSA) mayoral candidate for Cape Town); Independent Electoral Commission (electoral body; assured voters it had cleared logistical backlogs in the…)
What
Solomons said some BOSA candidates were refused a second ballot despite being registered, and that the IEC later issued a directive that voters registered to vote should receive two ballots. The IEC in the Western Cape said it had cleared logistical backlogs from the first two days of special voting, after printing delays left over 200 voting stations without ballot papers on Monday morning.
When
4 November 2026
Where
Cape Town, Western Cape, eThekwini
Status
Reported

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After voting closed in the local government elections, actor Tumisho Masha posted a photo of his marked ballot, which the Electoral Commission (IEC) prohibits, so the post may breach its rules. Special voting drew 1,425,942 people on 2 and 3 November, though some elderly approved applicants still went to Kathorus polling stations on election day, saying they did not know about it.

Earlier, the IEC said about 12 million people had voted by 5pm, and Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo said anyone in the queue at 9pm would still vote. Voting began at 7am on 4 November, with 98% of 23,696 stations open on time, though protests and rain delayed some.

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