Elections Hot

The Commission issued a statement on which political activities are prohibited inside and outside voting stations. It said the law does not require a period of silence from campaigners on election day. Campaigning inside the boundaries of a voting station is still banned.

A person who breaks the campaigning rules can face a fine, a prison term of up to five years, or both.

The Commission also reminded voters how to check their registration. A voter can send an ID number by SMS, which costs R1 per message.Share

Voters at the Soshanguve station spoke about their hopes. Thabo Maleka, 39, said he came to vote for change. He said he had been voting for the opposition, but not much had changed.

Bokang Maleka, 19, voted for the first time. The teenager said young people are committed to making the right decisions. Another voter, Baloyi, said illegal migration, unemployment and crime are top of mind.

Baloyi said unemployment keeps rising every year. Baloyi also said the many political parties have turned politics into a business that no longer serves the people. Voters who did not register this time will still be able to vote in the 2029 national elections, Baloyi said.

Voters in metropolitan municipalities receive two ballots. Voters in local municipalities receive three. The Electoral Commission has said it is ready for the polls.Share

Evelyn Mdlalose, 84, voted at Boitshepo Secondary School. She said the area has no clean water, no roads and no electricity. She hopes the party she voted for will deliver these services.

Piet Kekana, 80, said crime is his priority. He said he wants peace and a candidate who will fight crime, which he described as severe in the area.

Linah Kwinaka, 81, said she voted for a candidate who could address the water crisis. Elderly residents in general said they hope the next administration will solve the area's long-standing service problems.

Water is a sore point in Hammanskraal. More than 30 people died in a cholera outbreak linked to contaminated water supply in May 2023.Share

More than 29 million voters are on the voters' roll. The Electoral Commission said it is preparing for 100% turnout. Its chief executive, Sy Mamabolo, said special voting went smoothly the day before. He said the only significant problem was late delivery of ballot papers in Cape Town.

Several party leaders, including DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis and Good Party leader Patricia De Lille, planned to vote in Cape Town in the morning. Hill-Lewis is also the DA candidate for Cape Town mayor.

Analysts expect many councils to be hung. The Mapungubwe Coalition Barometer expects about half of the 257 municipalities to be hung. Analyst Tessa Dooms said smaller parties and independents may hold the balance of power. She also said trust in politicians is low.

Pre-election polls suggest no party will win a majority in any of the three Gauteng metros. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has said the party must review its place with the DA in the national unity government. An analysis said DA leaders may drive a harder bargain in coming talks.Share

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.Share

Fhumalini Thovhagale, the IEC Municipal Electoral Officer in Bushbuckridge, said the parties raised concerns about trust in the process. She said they told the IEC they wanted to guard the ballots.

Thovhagale said parties may guard outside the storage facilities. They must stay out of the warehouse area where the ballots are kept.

The parties claim that ballot boxes might be tampered with at the storage facilities. The IEC did not confirm any tampering.Share

Wednesday is a public holiday. Some voters in the queue complained that 7am is a late start for voting.

Madumetja Mothabele, a 61-year-old voter, said residents want service delivery and electricity, and that rent is very expensive. Rejoice Makgoro, a state pensioner, said she gets an old age grant of R2,400 a month. She said food is expensive and the grant is too small for her food and rent, and she wants it raised to at least R3,000.Share

Experts expect the fight for control of councils to end in another round of coalition talks. They project more hung councils, where no party wins an outright majority.

Two other stories made news on the same day. Nomthandazo Nama, a KwaZulu-Natal flood victim, moved into a new home in the Cornubia housing development. She said she struggled with leaks and a crumbling floor in less than five months, and that the contractors did not install a gutter.

Muzi Ngongoma, a disabled flood victim, was allocated a double-storey home in Cornubia. Separately, the high court in Pretoria voided the award of the National Lottery licence to Sizekhaya Holdings. The court sent the matter back to Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau, and Ithuba welcomed the ruling.Share

President Cyril Ramaphosa is due to vote at Hyde Park High School in Johannesburg. Deputy President Paul Mashatile is due to vote at St Johannes Lutheran Church in Kelvin, Johannesburg. The Presidency announced the plans of both leaders.

IEC Chairperson Mosotho Moepya and his team promised credible, free and fair elections.Share

The MK Party has 15% support among registered voters aged 18 to 24, and the DA has 13%. Another 9% of these voters said they will not vote. The findings come from the Ipsos Pulse of the People study, released ahead of the local government elections.

Ipsos political analyst Mari Harris said young South Africans are sending a clear message to parties. She said many of them do not feel represented and are sceptical of politicians. She also said youth unemployment gets too little attention, which keeps registration lower than among older voters.

Statistics from the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) show about 693,000 people aged 15 to 19 are registered to vote. About 5 million registered voters are aged 20 to 29. Councillor candidates aged 18 to 39 make up 32% of the total, and the IEC said young people are still not adequately represented on party lists.Share

NATJOINTS briefed the media in Pretoria. Co-chairperson Tebello Mosikili, who is also Deputy National Police Commissioner, said police recorded the 21 case dockets since Monday. The incidents also include destruction of election material and impersonating officials of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

Two of the six suspects were arrested for impersonating an IEC official at Ingcobo in the Eastern Cape. The fact sheet also lists Mmametlake in Mpumalanga and Pienaar and Christiana in North West as places linked to incidents.

NATJOINTS said law enforcement agencies remain on high alert. It said they will act against anyone who tries to interfere with the electoral process.

SANDF Brigadier-General Martin Gopane said the military does not foresee problems that would need soldiers. He said the defence force remains on standby and is ready to deploy if the need arises.Share

At the Bud Mbelle voting station in Ward 63, 38 voters registered for special votes through home visits. The station expects 101 voters to cast ballots.

Elsie Chabane, 91, voted from her home in Ward 63. She said she loves President Cyril Ramaphosa and hopes the ANC will win. She said life has been better since 1994 and that pensioners earn because of Ramaphosa.

Chabane said she gets more than R2,000 a month as an old age grant. She also said Ramaphosa gives unemployed youth R370. Those are her claims.

Lesego Bohola, a wheelchair user in Ward 68, first voted in 1994. She said she wants a house and has lost hope of ever owning one.Share

Some municipal workers are on a Grade 8 scale, while senior officials are on Grade 10. The newly signed agreement aims to fix this pay gap by moving affected employees onto the Grade 10 scale.

Gauteng Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Jacob Mamabolo said the move is critical. He said it would improve staff morale, governance and service delivery, and help grow the economy.

The provincial government said continuity would prevent instability in the City.Share

Provincial electoral officer Ntombifuthi Masinga said the car carried a party colours and logo. She said this sends a wrong message and that IEC staff must be impartial. One report said the car was driven by the officer's son.

The IEC said supporters of one contesting party forced their way into the precinct of a satellite storage facility at Dassenhoek Library. It said parties also tried to gain access or post private guards in Richmond, uMkhambathini and Pietermaritzburg. The IEC said no election material was tampered with. Another report said the incident happened at a facility in Marianhill, and that the IEC asked police to reinforce security at all its storage facilities in the province.

On the first day, 133,931 special votes were administered in KwaZulu-Natal, or 37% of the 362,878 approved applications. Of these, 68,114 were home visits and 65,817 were votes at voting stations. On Tuesday, 228,947 special votes remained, including 83,315 home visits. Masinga said the IEC worries most about the home visits, because they depend on its teams reaching every voter.Share

Chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo said the commission is taking legal steps to hold the identified people and political parties accountable. Deputy chief electoral officer Masego Sheburi said videos of special vote ballots being moved show standard procedure. He said the envelopes were already reconciled and voter details were removed.

The IEC said a candidate in Mpumalanga was arrested after allegedly storming a voting station and damaging materials. It also said MK Party supporters allegedly stormed a storage facility in KwaZulu-Natal and held officials hostage.

The 34 complaints on the Real411 platform covered misinformation, disinformation, incitement to violence, hate speech and harassment. Of these, 58.8% involved X and 23.5% involved TikTok.Share

NatJOINTS co-chairperson Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili briefed the media on Tuesday evening. She said police opened the case dockets over the two days of special voting, ahead of the local government elections on Wednesday, 4 November.

Police are investigating the death of an Electoral Commission presiding officer in the North West. They are also investigating the killing of a regional leader of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party in KwaZulu-Natal.

Other arrests include two suspects for impersonating an election official at Ingcobo in the Eastern Cape. One suspect was held for destroying election material in Mmametlake, and one for malicious damage to property in Pienaar, both in Mpumalanga.

Mosikili urged political parties, members and supporters to show tolerance and restraint. She said the investigating team will follow all leads to bring those responsible to justice. She also said contingency measures are in place for power interruptions in some municipalities.Share

Gauteng recorded the most special votes with 264,898, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 208,846 and Eastern Cape with 207,258. Limpopo had 180,627 and Mpumalanga 149,714. Western Cape had 148,493, North West 126,187, Free State 75,946 and Northern Cape 63,973.

IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya spoke at a media briefing at the Results Operation Centre in Midrand after voting stations closed at 5pm on Tuesday. He said the special votes are securely stored and the figures are preliminary. About 2.6 million approved voters could vote early.

Moepya said the commission is fully prepared for Election Day. He said logistical, security and operational arrangements are in place across all nine provinces. The commission said 29.2 million voters are registered, with 23,696 voting stations and 188,000 officials.

The commission condemned incidents of intimidation, disruption and damage to election materials. It said it is taking legal action against the people and political parties involved.Share

Special voting took place over two days, on Monday and Tuesday. Reports from Johannesburg, Sandton, Mogale City, Krugersdorp, Orlando West and Pretoria covered the second day.

In Bronkhorstspruit, residents still face problems with water quality. Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya urged residents not to drink tap water until the municipality confirms it is safe in an official communication.Share

The meeting took place at the IEC's National Results Operations Centre in Midrand, a day before the Local Government Elections on Wednesday. Cachalia and the commissioners discussed progress with special voting and operational arrangements. Deputy Police Minister Polly Boshielo and Deputy Justice Minister Andries Nel are also named among those involved.

IEC spokesperson Mamabolo said at a media briefing that the commission had noted a sharp increase in prohibited conduct and clear criminal behaviour by some party supporters and candidates. The IEC said it is taking legal action against the people and parties involved in intimidation, disruption and damage to election materials.

Law enforcement said it will not tolerate lawlessness or any conduct that threatens the integrity of the electoral process. The Police Ministry said every effort is being made to support free, fair and peaceful elections. The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) coordinates election security.Share

The Electoral Commission (IEC) said it has operational arrangements in place in all nine provinces. It has 23,696 voting stations nationwide and deployed 188,000 officials across them. Campaigning ends at midnight.

IEC Chairperson Mosotho Moepya spoke at a media briefing at the National Results Operations Centre in Midrand. He said the secrecy of every vote is a basic principle of democracy and must be protected. The Commission also warned that false or misleading information can undermine public confidence in the election.

Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili, co-chairperson of the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NatJOINTS), said law enforcement readiness is at the highest operational level. He said planning took into account the security environment, past incidents, intelligence and possible threats.

Mosikili warned that protests on Election Day are prohibited. He said anyone who breaks the rules in Section 76 of the Municipal Electoral Act will face action. He and Moepya both urged voters to keep the day peaceful.Share