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NewsbriefSouth Africa, briefly.
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South Africans vote in 2026 local government elections

Published

Ongoing: Elections Hot

Voting in the municipal elections runs from 7am to 9pm at 23,696 voting stations nationwide. The Electoral Commission says a record 29.2 million voters are registered, and women make up 55.27% of them.

Voters elect municipal representatives for the next five years. The Electoral Commission says about 16.1 million registered voters are women and 13 million are men.

Gauteng has the most registered voters, with 6.4 million, or 23.1% of the total. KwaZulu-Natal has 6 million, the Eastern Cape 3.6 million and the Western Cape 3.4 million.

Mpumalanga Premier Mandla Ndlovu voted at the Thulamahashe Civic Centre. He urged voters to hold their councillors to account and said the province would pay special attention to water in Mbombela. He said plans for a new dam in the City of Mbombela and the Loskop Bulk Water Supply Project are under way.

In Pietermaritzburg, voter Nondumiso Nzuza said the new councils must create jobs and help young people, as many graduates are unemployed. Voter Ntombi Kofane said leaders must enforce municipal by-laws, including those on underage drinking.

Key facts

Who
Mandla Ndlovu (Mpumalanga Premier); Cyril Ramaphosa (President of South Africa); Electoral Commission (electoral body that recorded the registered voters and voting stations); Electoral Commission of South Africa (election management body that reported the voter registration figures)
What
Ndlovu voted on election day and urged voters to turn out, while outlining provincial water and electricity plans. South Africans went to the polls on Wednesday to elect municipal councils, with 29.2 million registered voters and 23 696 voting stations nationwide.
When
4 November 2026
Where
Thulamahashe, Mpumalanga, Mbombela
Status
Reported

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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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