Elections Hot

Moepya said canvassing, door-to-door campaigns, demonstrations and rallies are also not allowed after midnight. He said the limits aim to protect voters from intimidation and interference. Voters may still wear political party shirts or colours, he said.

Moepya said the IEC has secured all ballot papers and essential election materials and sent them to voting stations. He said logistical, security and operational plans are in place. Reports put the number of voting stations at nearly 24,000, with over 29 million registered voters.

He said the secrecy of every vote must always be protected. He said the IEC does not want people to stand in long queues without need. He called on parties and voters to show tolerance and peace, and urged registered voters to turn out.

The IEC warned that false or misleading information could undermine public confidence in the electoral process. Voters can send an SMS to 32810 at a cost of R1 to verify their registration details. The department of home affairs will keep its offices open on election day to help voters with identity documents.Share

KwaZulu-Natal electoral officer Ntombifuthi Masinga explained the dismissal at a media briefing at the IEC operating centre in Durban. She said the IEC had no option but to end the officer's service, because he knew he would perform election duties.

The IEC said it would open a criminal case over the storm of the storage facility at a Mariannhill library once the party affiliations of those involved were confirmed. Masinga said party members had demanded that the IEC change its Dassenhoek Library storage facility, citing past break-ins and computer thefts. The facility serves four wards and 24 voting stations.

Masinga said fears about the safety of the materials in the facility were not justified. She also said political parties had shown a sudden interest in storage facilities since the 2024 general elections.

The IEC approved 362,878 special votes in KwaZulu-Natal. It administered 133,931 of them on Monday, which is 37% of the total. The IEC said 83,315 people were still to be processed on Tuesday. Voting stations open at 7:00am and close at 9:00pm on Wednesday.Share

The Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) is prosecuting the case. Its spokesperson, Henry Mamothame, said all parties agreed to the postponement. The delay lets the Local Government Elections conclude and lets accused who live outside Gauteng vote.

The charges relate to two police software purchases from 2015 that the state calls irregular. Mamothame said the first software was meant for use during the #feesmustfall protests in October 2015. He said the second software was allegedly used to wipe cell phone records and messages while the Hawks were investigating Phahlane over the blue lights police tender.

Phahlane has said he is innocent.Share

Mmakgabo Ramatlhodi, an IEC assistant manager, said voters must show identification at the door controller. She said digital identification documents are not accepted. Voters are also marked with indelible ink, which she said takes a few days to remove and protects the integrity of the process.

Voters in metropolitan municipalities receive two ballot papers. Voters in local municipalities receive a third ballot, the district PR ballot. That ballot decides 40% of the seats in the district council.

Ramatlhodi said a ballot that is not stamped at the back will count as spoiled. She also said more than one mark on a ballot could lead to it being declared invalid.Share

Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo spoke at a media briefing in Midrand. He reminded voters that they receive two or three ballot papers, depending on the municipality. He asked them to mark the correct paper and fold each completed ballot before they put it in the right box.

The Commission said it had registered 34 complaints on the Real411 platform. Twitter / X had 58.8% of the complaints and TikTok had 23.5%. Facebook and WhatsApp had 8.8% each.

Mamabolo said unproven claims of election fraud had led supporters to post videos of presiding officers and staff. The videos show staff moving special vote ballots from carrying boxes and bags into the main ballot box. He said they were shared without context, alongside claims that something wrong was happening.

The Commission said it had already acted quickly against election officials who failed to do their duties as required.Share

Michael Hendricks, the IEC electoral officer for the Western Cape, said the commission has a high level of confidence in its preparations. He said unexpected problems can still happen and the IEC will respond to them as they occur. The IEC said an unforeseen delay by its contracted printing company caused the late openings. The company was reprinting ballots after a Constitutional Court ruling.

Nationally, 2.6 million people registered for special votes. In the Western Cape, 292,000 people registered. The IEC said 28 million ballots already printed and distributed were no longer suitable because they did not include all contesting parties. It authorised the reprinting of 33 million ballots.

Separately, police arrested a wanted gang member after a shootout in Manenberg, about 150m from a voting station on Ruimte Road. Western Cape police said the suspect allegedly opened fire on officers when he saw them. Police found 32 rounds of ammunition on him, and the Anti-Gang Unit was deployed for security.Share

Mamabolo spoke at an IEC media briefing on the local government elections. He said some parties made fraud claims without proof. Supporters then posted videos of presiding officers moving special vote ballots, shared without context.

Of the Real411 complaints, 58.8% involved X and 23.5% involved TikTok. Facebook and WhatsApp together made up 8.8%.

Mamabolo alleged that a candidate in ward 30 in the Phake Rankahile voting district stormed a voting station and damaged election materials. He also alleged that MK Party supporters stormed the IEC satellite warehouse at Dassenhoek Library and held election officials hostage. Two people allegedly tried to reach election materials by posing as IEC officials.

The IEC recorded about 970,000 station-based special votes and 421,000 home visits for special votes. Special voting continues until 5 November. Mamabolo said the commission is taking legal steps to hold the people and parties involved to account.Share

Police in the Eastern Cape arrested two women. The commission said they allegedly tried to steal election material from the Ngcobo Police Station. In Mpumalanga, police arrested a candidate in Ward 30 after he allegedly stormed a voting station.

Sy Mamabolo, the IEC Chief Electoral Officer, spoke at a media briefing in Midrand. He said the candidate stormed the Phake Rankaile voting district station and damaged electoral materials.

Mamabolo also said supporters of a party stormed a satellite warehouse where election materials are kept. He said they held election officials hostage. He said such acts threaten the integrity of the electoral process.

He said the commission has seen a sharp rise in conduct that the law prohibits. He said some party supporters have acted in plainly unlawful ways.Share

Mamabolo said an Economic Freedom Fighters candidate for Ward 30 in Mpumalanga stormed a voting station and damaged election materials. Police arrested the candidate. He also said a candidate of the Ngcobo Yethu Civic Organisation was arrested in Ngcobo in the Eastern Cape. The Commission said that candidate posed as electoral officials to get election materials.

Mamabolo said supporters of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) stormed the Dassenhoek library satellite warehouse in KwaZulu-Natal, where election materials are kept. He said they held election officials hostage. He said MKP supporters made similar attempts to get materials at Richmond and Pietermaritzburg. Police dispersed MKP members.

Mamabolo said the conduct ranged from intimidation of officials to disruption of voting and tampering with materials. He said it cannot be justified and must not harm the country's democratic processes. The second and final day of special voting ended at 5pm on Tuesday.Share

The Mankweng man appeared in court, and the case was postponed to 30 November. Police spokesperson Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba said the removal of posters was reportedly captured on video. The case was registered at Mankweng police station under Section 92 of the Electoral Act.

In Sekhukhune District, Mashaba said a complainant's party T-shirt was forcibly removed and set alight. He said members of a different political party had accosted the complainant.

Limpopo police commissioner Lieutenant-General Jan Petrus Scheepers said police will take a hard line on intimidation, violence and the unlawful removal or destruction of election material. He urged parties and communities to respect the law and settle differences peacefully.Share

Police spokesperson Brig Hlulani Mashaba said the incidents happened on Monday at the voting station in the Humulani settlement. He said the 32-year-old allegedly took the photo after he voted. Police said one of the voters allegedly posted the image on his social media status.

Mashaba said the second man allegedly photographed his marked ballot paper and then became aggressive when confronted. One account said he verbally insulted the presiding officer before he left. The Electoral Commission of SA advised the presiding officer to open a case with police.

The 32-year-old was expected to appear in the Lulekani magistrate's court on Wednesday.Share

KwaZulu-Natal electoral officer Ntombifuthi Masinga disclosed the dismissal at a media briefing in Durban. She said the officer was moving sensitive material at the end of the day.

The Electoral Commission said items such as ballot papers, security stamps, ink and the voters' roll do not stay overnight at a voting station. It said presiding officers are sometimes trusted to transport this material. The commission said it fired the officer and will not take the matter any further.Share

John Masuku, a 70-year-old voter from Hillbrow, said he was voting because he needs the roads fixed. He said the roads and traffic lights where he lives do not work, so crossing a busy road is hard.

Masuku also said open sewage drains in his area put young people at risk. He said a pupil almost fell into an open sewage pipe.

Another voter, who did not give his name, said residents have to vote because otherwise leaders will do nothing. Aviwe Ngcina, originally from the Eastern Cape, also spoke about why she was voting.Share

Police spokesperson Nobuntu Gantana said the presiding officer was in the queue at the station at the time. The officer dismissed the women's claims.

Gantana said the two suspects were being processed after their arrest. Police allege the women posed as an official of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).Share

AccuWeather forecasts a possible afternoon thunderstorm in Pretoria. Thunderstorms are possible in parts of Johannesburg too. The forecast gives a 55% probability of precipitation and a 33% chance of thunderstorms for both cities.

Forecast rainfall is 1.3mm in Pretoria and 2.2mm in Johannesburg. The maximum UV index is 13 in both cities, which is classed as extreme. Cape Town has a maximum UV index of 5, which is moderate.

Overnight lows are forecast at 20°C in Pretoria, 17°C in Johannesburg and 16°C in Cape Town.Share

DA national spokesperson Jan de Villiers said the party wrote to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) with three requests. The DA says the delays affected stations in the Western Cape, Gauteng, Free State, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.

The party asked for a timeline, a guarantee that approved special voters can vote, and a full explanation to parties in the party liaison committee. De Villiers said voters need reassurance that similar delays will not happen on election day, when all ballot papers must be in place.

Special voting continues on Tuesday. About 2.6 million South Africans are approved for special votes in the 2026 local government elections.Share

Meth stressed that voting is a right in the Constitution. She said employers must not threaten workers, punish them or block them from using that right.

She also asked employers and employees to plan their voting arrangements in advance. Special votes were cast on Monday and Tuesday.Share

The parade in Durban on Tuesday included SAPS officers, army members and staff of the road traffic inspectorate. Mkhwanazi, the KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner and a Lieutenant General, told them to deal decisively with anyone who tries to disrupt the elections.

He said officers must enforce the electoral act and the other laws of the country without compromise. He also told them not to take political sides.

Mkhwanazi said the police must treat every political party and all members of the public in the same way.Share

Special votes are for registered voters who are physically infirm or disabled, or who cannot get to their voting station on Election Day. Election officials also visit some of these voters at home on 2 and 3 November.

The Commission said ballots for special votes reached some areas of the Western Cape late, which it called an unforeseen delay. Michael Hendrickse is the Western Cape Provincial Electoral Officer.

The Commission said voters who miss the home visit are not disenfranchised. They can still vote at their voting station on 4 November 2026. It also said the first day created a solid basis for better performance on day two and on election day.Share

OR Tambo District Municipality has over 1 000 voting districts and over 1100 voting stations. Police said the district has limited police officials for that number of sites.

Ncatha said the three high-risk voting stations are linked to the number of officers to be deployed. He said a police chopper has been made available.

Ncatha explained how the district was categorised. He said: "The categorisation was done and concluded by our intelligence community."Share