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IEC says about 12 million had voted by 5pm

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The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) said preliminary figures showed about 12 million people had voted in the local government elections by 5pm. Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo said anyone in the queue at 9pm would still vote.

Mamabolo said Gauteng had the most votes by 5pm, at 3 million. KwaZulu-Natal came next with 2.5 million, then the Western Cape with 1.5 million and the Eastern Cape with 1.4 million. Limpopo had 1.1 million.

The smaller provinces followed. Mpumalanga had about 854,000 votes, North West about 702,000, Free State about 588,000 and Northern Cape about 299,000. The IEC said all these figures are preliminary.

Mamabolo said voting went well across the country, despite a few isolated incidents. He briefed the media at the Results Operations Centre in Midrand. The IEC said 98% of voting stations opened on time, and that some stations had delays from local protests and heavy rain. It said generators and alternative lighting were in place where power cuts hit stations.

After voting closed, the IEC said ballots will be counted at voting stations. Results will be verified and scanned at local offices. The IEC will declare final results and council seat allocations within seven days.

Key facts

Who
Sy Mamabolo (IEC chief electoral officer); Electoral Commission of South Africa (election management body); Independent Electoral Commission (electoral commission running the 2026 local government elections)
What
After voting in the election closed on Wednesday, the IEC explained that ballots will be counted at voting stations, results verified and scanned at local offices, and final results and council seat allocations announced within the prescribed seven days. IEC chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo gave the outline.
When
4 November 2026
Where
South Africa, Midrand, Johannesburg
Status
Reported

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