Ongoing

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

IEC to brief media on special votes readiness

Published

Ongoing: Elections Hot

The Electoral Commission approved a record 2 655 067 special vote applications for the 2026 Local Government Elections, up 131% from 2021. Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo will brief the media at 6pm on Sunday.

The briefing will take place at the National Results Operations Centre. The co-chairs of the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) will also speak on the readiness of the security cluster. The special votes are set for 2 and 3 November.

The Electoral Commission approved 678 525 home visit applications for 2026. That is 171 118 (33.7%) more than the 507 407 approved in 2021. In 2021 the commission approved 1 147 759 special vote applications in all.

Online platforms received 2 426 066 of the applications. Staff captured another 171 214 manual applications at commission offices.

National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola said the South African Police Service is operationally ready to secure the elections. He said: "We have been planning for these elections for several months".

Key facts

Who
Sy Mamabolo (Chief Electoral Officer, Electoral Commission); Fannie Masemola (National Police Commissioner); Electoral Commission of South Africa (electoral body (IEC)); National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS, co-chaired by SAPS, SANDF and SSA)
What
The Electoral Commission's Chief Electoral Officer, Sy Mamabolo, is to brief the media at 6pm on Sunday at the National Results Operations Centre on readiness for the special votes. The IEC had earlier approved a record 2 655 067 special vote applications, and NATJOINTS co-chairs will also brief on the security cluster's readiness.
When
1 November 2026
Where
Gallagher Convention Centre, South Africa
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