Ongoing

  1. ElectionsHot
  2. US mid-termsHeating up
  3. AICooling
NewsbriefSouth Africa, briefly.
JoburgJHB29°16°CTCT30°17°PretoriaPTA31°17°DurbanDBN27°64%

Hlabisa urges peaceful vote as local elections near

Published

Ongoing: Elections Hot

The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Local Government Elections says preparations are on track for the vote on 4 November 2026. It reports 142 072 candidate nominations for 10 526 council seats and a voters' roll above 29 million.

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa chairs the committee. He called on South Africans to protect democracy and take part peacefully. He said: "Your vote matters. Your voice matters. Your participation matters."

The Electoral Commission (IEC) says its results system is fit for purpose after independent testing and auditing. It says it addressed all findings. The National Results Operations Centre will coordinate results from 23 696 voting stations.

The committee said registration weekends in June and August led to almost 4.7 million interactions with voters. More than 750 000 new voters joined the roll. People under 29 made up 46% of new registrations in the final weekend.

The Department of Home Affairs is extending front-office hours for identity documents. The South African Weather Service said current forecasts do not point to significant adverse weather on election day. It said monitoring must continue.

Key facts

Who
Velenkosini Hlabisa (Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister and…); Inter-Ministerial Committee on Local Government Elections (government committee coordinating support for the elections); Electoral Commission (body administering the elections (IEC)); Department of Home Affairs (extending front-office operating hours for identity documents)
What
Government's Inter-Ministerial Committee on Local Government Elections, chaired by Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa, urged citizens to vote peacefully and reported on election readiness: 142 072 candidate nominations for 10 526 council seats, a voters' roll above 29 million, and an IEC results system declared fit for purpose. It also announced extended Home Affairs office hours and weather and…
When
1 November 2026
Where
South Africa, Midrand
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. IEC dismisses MK Party worry about dead people on voters' roll
  2. IEC says local election voting went largely smoothly
  3. IEC says about 12 million had voted by 5pm

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