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  2. US mid-termsHeating up
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Newsbrief

Ramaphosa to close ANC election campaign at Mdantsane rally

Published

Ongoing: Elections Hot

The ANC holds its Siyanqoba rally in Mdantsane, Buffalo City, on Sunday, a few hours before South Africans vote in local government elections. Polls cited in one report put the party below 50 per cent in the metro.

The party also plans provincial mini rallies at four sites to close its campaign. Locations named include Knysna in the Western Cape and Bethlehem in the Free State.

Buffalo City is one of two metros where the ANC currently holds a clear majority. One report said the party faces a real prospect of losing the metro. It said Ramaphosa is expected to urge the party's faithful supporters to come out in their numbers.

Key facts

Who
Cyril Ramaphosa (ANC President, to deliver the keynote address at the rally); African National Congress (governing party closing its local government election campaign); Pemmy Majodina (water and sanitation minister)
What
The ANC is closing its campaign for the local government elections with a main rally featuring Ramaphosa in Mdantsane, plus provincial mini rallies at four sites. The article says Buffalo City is a metro the party could lose, with polls putting it below 50 per cent.
When
1 November 2026
Where
Mdantsane, Buffalo City Metro, Buffalo City
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.

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US mid-terms Heating up

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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.

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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.

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