Elections Hot

The EFF will hold its final rally at Orlando Stadium on Saturday. The rally is expected to start at around 3 o'clock. Maotwe said it will mark the end of the party's local government election campaign.

Maotwe said the party is confident it has resonated with people on the ground. The party is hopeful its campaigning will pay off on election day.Share

The Department of Home Affairs said the longer hours apply at all its front offices. The election-day hours of 7am to 9pm match the operating hours of the Electoral Commission of South Africa.

The department asked people who applied for identity documents to collect them and vote. The Electoral Commission (IEC) reminded voters that they need an acceptable ID at voting stations.Share

The DA's candidate is Khathutshelo Rasilingwane, 36, a member of the Gauteng Legislature. The EFF has chosen Nthabiseng Tshivhenga, 43, a former Ekurhuleni Speaker. ActionSA's candidate is Xolani Khumalo, 36, a media personality and anti-drug activist.

Xhakaza is 49. Former Ekurhuleni Finance MMC Jongizizwe Dlabathi is also competing for the ANC candidacy. Minor parties have candidates too: Themba "skeem GP" Nzimande for Afrika Mayibuye, and Thulani Shongwe for the Umkhonto We Sizwe Party. Shongwe is an MP and sits on Parliament's ad hoc committee on SAPS criminality.

Corruption allegations mark the race. Reports said Xhakaza's administration since 2024 faces corruption allegations, and several current and former senior managers face criminal charges. Chief forensic auditor Mpho Mafole was killed in June last year, allegedly before he reported an irregular tender worth over a billion rand.

Tshivhenga was accused of taking kickbacks from service providers, and Khumalo faces legal issues linked to filming Sizok'thola. Murder charges from a 2023 matter against him have been provisionally withdrawn. The DA has been accused of failing to prevent alleged criminal infiltration of the City.Share

The Democratic Alliance (DA) governs the council with 134 seats. The ANC has 43 seats, the EFF has 10 and GOOD has nine. In the 2021 local elections the DA won 58.3% of the vote, down from 66.6% in 2016. The ANC won 18.6%, down from 24.3%, and the EFF won 4.1%, up from 3.1%.

About 18.2% of residents live below the poverty line. The Gini coefficient, a measure of inequality, was 0.61 in 2022, down from 0.68 in 2002. In the 2022 census, 87.5% of households lived in formal housing and 11.7% in informal housing.

In 2022, 85.4% of households had piped water inside the home, up from 75% in 2011. Some 91.4% had refuse removal and 92.4% had access to sanitation. In 2024/25 the city reported that it met 81% of its basic service delivery targets but only 38% of its housing targets. It spent 92.3% of its capital budget.

Cape Town produces 72% of the Western Cape economy and 11% of national GDP. Direct tourism spending reached R24.5 billion in 2025 and supported more than 106,000 jobs. In a July 2026 ruling on the Tafelberg site sale, the Constitutional Court found that the city and the provincial government had perpetuated spatial apartheid.

President Cyril Ramaphosa criticised the city's service delivery record and spending priorities in October 2025. An Africa Check investigation found that claims Cape Town was the worst metro at expanding service access were misleading. It also found no evidence for claims that the city favoured affluent areas.Share

Mashatile said responsible voting honours the sacrifices made to win the nation's freedom. He said: "Responsible voting is therefore an act of remembrance."

He also said citizens must use their right to vote responsibly. Government has a duty to address poverty, unemployment, crime, inequality and gender-based violence, he said.

Tambo died in April 1993. South Africans cast votes in the first democratic election in 1994.Share

Hill-Lewis said 51% or 52% support for the DA would be "too close for comfort". The DA's own polling puts its support in Cape Town at 51%. The party won 58% in 2021.

He named the ANC and the EFF as coalition risks. He said coalition governments elsewhere bring unstable leadership and falling service delivery, with mayors changing every few months.

Hill-Lewis also campaigned at Bloubergstrand on the West Coast. There he cited the water situation in Tshwane as an example. He claimed Tshwane lied to residents for three weeks about the water not being safe to drink.

He also said more than 800 people became seriously ill, and called the problem a symptom of a coalition government. These are his claims.Share

Werner Pretorius is the DA candidate and chairs the Free State DA. He has been a Free State member of the provincial legislature since 2024. He called Mangaung the country's worst-run metro and said the city is in intensive care. His campaign message is "Building a city of opportunity for all."

Sam Matiase is the EFF candidate. He is an EFF MP and a member of the party's Central Command Team. His family was evicted in 1986 and moved to Botshabelo. Matiase said the ANC is corrupt. EFF leader Julius Malema pledged at the party's manifesto launch to end cadre deployment.

Elizabeth Snyman-van Deventer is the FF+ candidate and a Mangaung councillor. She has lived in the metro for 39 years and served on the council for two decades. She said experienced leadership, rigorous oversight and sound financial management can turn the metro around. The FF+ has gained five council seats in Mangaung across recent local government elections.

Mayor Gregory Nthatisi described the DA's legal action over Lourier Park as a regrettable moment for South Africa's democracy. Thabo Manyoni, a former Mangaung mayor and chair of the Municipal Demarcation Board, is on the ANC shortlist.Share

The polls come from the Social Research Foundation, Mark Data, Ipsos and Sabi. Mark Data, Ipsos and Sabi each project at least 40% for the MK Party in the metro.

All four research groups expect the DA to finish second. They also say the ANC could drop from first place to third.

No party is expected to win an outright majority of 50% plus one. A coalition government is therefore likely to stay in place in the metro.Share

Schreiber said the department has widened access to Smart ID cards. Around 1 000 locations now take applications, which is nearly five times the number of access points two years ago. People can also get IDs at more than 450 participating bank branches under the digital partnership with Absa.

Schreiber said: "A valid ID holds the key to democratic participation in the upcoming elections." He also called the green barcoded ID book fraud-prone. He said the country is closing that chapter in favour of secure, digitalised identity services.Share

Zigebe said the City of Johannesburg's budget for 2026-27 is R97.1 billion, and R7.5 billion of it is for maintenance and repairs. He said residents do not see this work because they do not know what goes into departments or who is responsible for what.

He said the government does not communicate with people and takes decisions behind their backs. He said a live dashboard would give residents a sense of ownership, which he said could prevent vandalism of substations and water stations.

Zigebe said: "We need to be able to publish our budget priorities. And the people need to have a say and scrutinise those particular budgets before they go into spending."

He also said some residents have been overcharged for consumption while others have been charged less, which he called unfair. Presenter John Perlman said the government's effort to communicate may come at the expense of getting things done.Share

Maritz, who is 42, said the red berets are the only political formation that can bring South Africa full circle by redressing its past, including apartheid. She said she is not the kind of person people would normally associate with the EFF. She said online trolls are emboldened by the Donald Trump kind of MAGA movement.

She also set out her campaign priorities for the ward. She said residents of Ocean View and Simon's Town must travel to False Bay Hospital if an emergency happens at night. On baboons, she said people should change what they do so that humans and the animals can live in harmony.

The DA won Ward 61 in the 2021 local government elections with 73.64% of the vote. The EFF placed 10th with 0.84%. The EFF has never won a ward in the City of Cape Town, and the party is banking on Maritz to change that.Share

Godi spoke to party members and councillor candidates. He said the APC will align with any party that shares a common governance agreement.

He said the City of Joburg has a governance coalition but no signed governance agreement. Godi said: "We are ready to work with anyone, as long as there is a governance agenda, there is a signed agenda and the agreement is binding".Share

A Western Cape government inspection in September 2025 found only 11 of Knysna's 67 sewer pump stations fully working. Of 136 pumps needed, 56 worked, 28 did not work, 50 had been removed and 2 were not assessed. In January 2026 the Akkerkloof Dam fell to around 15% capacity, which left the municipality 10 to 15 days of water supply.

ANC provincial spokesperson Sifiso Mtsweni said the party ended Matika's membership because he declined to serve on a party list and campaigned for another organisation. The ANC considers that misconduct. Municipal manager Lulamile Mapholoba is on precautionary suspension.

Jan van der Westhuizen, chairperson of the Greater Knysna Business Chamber, said Knysna is "really in trouble". He said consultants hired by the chamber found a water management problem, not a water problem. Businessman Andrew Stuart, a ward candidate, said the parties are so polarised that they cannot talk to each other.

The 21-member council has 8 DA seats, 7 ANC, 2 KIM, 2 PA, 1 EFF and 1 PBI. The council has committed R630 million over the next five years to environmental compliance and sewerage infrastructure. Oakhill School cancelled its Waterfront Chukka Festival in 2026.Share

Ramaphosa spoke at a doorstop interview on Monday. He said: "Studies are just studies. We know what’s happening on the ground." He also said the ANC campaign is reaching a very high peak and people are responding very positively.

A fresh MarkData poll put MK Party support in eThekwini at 48%, the DA at 25.2% and the ANC at 14.5%. In Tshwane, 25.9% of respondents named Nasiphi Moya as the ideal mayoral candidate, and 20.1% named the DA's Cilliers Brink. The poll interviewed just more than 1,000 people in each metro, with a margin of error exceeding 3%.

The poll also asked about service delivery. In Tshwane, 62.5% of respondents blamed the ANC for failures, and in eThekwini the figure was 74.6%.

Ramaphosa also visited the Kingsley hostel precinct, which accommodates 800 people. He said funding is already budgeted for shortcomings there, including electricity problems. He said the provincial government and the municipality would install more transformers and move vulnerable ones.Share

Mbalula said staying at home on voting day would destroy the ANC and the dreams of the people of the country. He said white people come out in numbers on voting day even though they do not attend rallies. He told the crowd: "Please do not stay in the house during the voting day, because the enemy wants to destroy the ANC."

Mbalula said the ANC will win the elections and keep Buffalo City metro. He also said the government of President Cyril Ramaphosa is steering the economy in the right direction. He referred to a R10 billion amount that Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced to ease the burden of fuel costs.

Mbalula told councillor candidates to be honest and said the party will not support councillors accused of stealing. Princess Faku, the ANC regional chairperson and Buffalo City mayor, said the party will keep the metro with an outright majority.

Cosatu provincial secretary Mkhawuleli Maleki also spoke. He said there are things people are not happy about in the ANC, but they will continue supporting it.Share

Minnaar says a small group of men threw petrol bombs into her home at around 8:15pm and damaged a bedroom window. Two adults and two children were in the bedroom. Reports gave four petrol bombs at the home.

About half an hour later, five explosives were thrown at the safe house where Minnaar had gone. One went through a window, but nothing exploded. Minnaar thinks the attackers followed her there. Police believe the same people were behind both attacks, because the rags at both places were made of the same cloth.

Zille visited Minnaar on Monday and said the attack was personal and targeted. She said Ward 58 is an ANC ward that Minnaar will win. Minnaar said: "this is not going to stop me from carrying on because to be honest, if they really wanted to get me, I was right there"

Colonel Frans Marweshe, the Florida police station commander, promised that police would take the case seriously and patrol the area. Electoral Commission spokesperson Kate Bapela said it was a matter for the police and that the parties know the code of conduct. The election is on 4 November.Share

The visit was made by the Portfolio Committees on Home Affairs and on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. The Select Committee on Security and Justice also took part. They went to assess how ready the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is.

Mosa Chabane chairs the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs. He said: "We are confident that the preparations are under way." He also said the committees are confident the IEC will respond to the measures put in place.

Chabane said work to carry out the Constitutional Court judgment is under way. He said concerns were raised. He added that the areas the IEC raised need a collective effort.Share

Ramaphosa said the ANC will win an outright majority across the country in the Local Government Elections. He made the claim while campaigning in Mamelodi on Monday.

He said the elections take place on Wednesday of next week. The pollsters who put the DA ahead in at least six metros were not named.Share

Shawn George said water problems persist four years after the end-2022 outage. He said he changed his vote to the DA. Ivan George, a former DA supporter, now backs the ACDP and said DA councillor Genevieve Sherman has never been an activist.

Shayelene Kruger, an unemployed mother of five, campaigns for the DA with a group of about eight people. She described shootings in the area and said: "There's so much blood here". A 20-year-old woman in her group said gangsterism stops young girls from showing peace signs.

A retired man who did not give his name described a high crime rate and said six men tried to rob an elderly neighbour earlier this month. He said the presence of the Defence Force has not brought relief. A 13-year-old boy, Ethen Sass, was run over by a taxi on Fuel Road while he collected water from a tanker.

Darren Jackson, a resident of 17 years, said Pikitup has at times not collected refuse for up to two weeks. Julie Fahmay of Chiswick Old Age Home said the elderly have been neglected.Share

Geordin Hill-Lewis, the DA Federal Leader, seeks a second term as mayor. He says his government created 480,000 jobs in his first term. He pledges to replace 100km each of water and sewer pipe every year.

Roger Solomons, BOSA national spokesperson, proposes 10,000 units a year of affordable housing and a municipal land audit within 90 days. Brett Herron of GOOD/Rise Mzansi proposes a 10 year moratorium on selling public land or granting leases.

Dereleen James of ActionSA proposes a R100-a-night tourist levy to fund free weekday MyCiTi rides. She called an allegation about leaked Crime Intelligence documents a "blatant lie".

Nontando Nolutshungu stands for the EFF and Cheslyn Daniels for the Patriotic Alliance. The ANC shortlist includes Jeremiah Thuynsma and Ndithini Tyhido, the City of Cape Town Leader of the Opposition.Share