Ongoing

  1. ElectionsHot
  2. US mid-termsHeating up
  3. AICooling
Newsbrief

MK Party holds final election rally in KwaMashu

Published

Ongoing: Elections Hot

The uMkhonto weSizwe Party will close its campaign at Princess Magogo Stadium on Sunday. It contests its first local government elections and wants seats in eThekwini, where it faces questions about internal unity.

The party removed some disgruntled councillor candidates from its eThekwini list. This raised questions about unity. MK Party eThekwini regional chairperson Mkhanka Zuma said councillors lost their places through list manipulation because they took a stand to vote for the party.

Mkhanka Zuma said those councillors still plan to vote for the MK Party. He said the party stays confident about its prospects. He said: "I can confidently tell you that we are going to win a municipality between 60 and 72%."

The party contests 112 wards in the eThekwini metro. More than 70 political parties contest wards in the metro.

Key facts

Who
Mkhanka Zuma (MK Party eThekwini regional chairperson); Jacob Zuma (MKP leader); uMkhonto weSizwe Party (party holding the rally); Duduzane Zuma (MK Party first deputy president)
What
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party will hold its final pre-election rally in KwaMashu on Sunday, as it contests its first local government elections and seeks municipal seats in eThekwini. The party faces challenges including the removal of disgruntled councillor candidates from the eThekwini list, which raised questions about internal unity.
When
1 November 2026
Where
KwaMashu, Durban, eThekwini
Status
Reported

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