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  2. US mid-termsHeating up
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Newsbrief

Ramaphosa votes in Hyde Park and calls election day historic

Published

Ongoing: Elections Hot

President Cyril Ramaphosa voted with his wife, Dr Tshepo Motsepe, at Hyde Park High School in Johannesburg on Wednesday. He said he was humbled by the long queues and that they showed South Africa's democracy is alive.

Ramaphosa spoke to the media after he voted. He said he was confident the ANC would come out on top in the local government elections. Over 29 million South Africans registered to vote in the seventh democratic local elections.

He also spoke about the strike in Johannesburg. One report said it ended when the City of Joburg agreed to pay workers R10 billion over two years.

On water supply, Ramaphosa said Rand Water had a problem delivering water to various reservoirs. He said the utility was now pumping more water into them.

Ramaphosa also commented on the US midterm elections. He said the Democrats had taken control of the Senate and the House. He said the result would bring a new era in world relations.

Key facts

Who
Cyril Ramaphosa (President of South Africa); Tshepo Motsepe (Ramaphosa's wife); City of Joburg (municipal authority that agreed to pay workers R10 billion over two years); Rand Water (water utility referred to in connection with reservoir delivery problems)
What
Ramaphosa, speaking to the media after voting, said he was humbled by the large numbers of people who lined up to vote and that this showed South Africa's democracy is alive. The article states over 29 million South Africans registered to vote in the seventh democratic local elections.
When
4 November 2026
Where
Hyde Park High School, South Africa, Hyde Park
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

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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

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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

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