Elections Hot

Special voting lets eligible voters who cannot reach their polling stations on Voting Day cast their votes early. At the Akasia station in Karenpark, 5318 people had registered for special votes. Presiding Officer Boitumelo Marx ran the station.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said the 2.65 million approved applications are a 131% increase on the 2021 Local Government Elections. IEC officials are visiting voters who cannot reach voting stations. Voters who miss Monday can vote on Tuesday.

In eThekwini, voting began despite heavy rain and a Yellow Level 4 warning from the South African Weather Service for most of KwaZulu-Natal. The weather service warned of heavy downpours and hail. It said spring weather is likely to vary across the country during the voting period.

Voter Sathiel Mathekge chose a special vote because of ill-health. He said voting was his only chance to be heard and to bring change to his community.Share

IEC deputy CEO for Electoral Operations Masego Sheburi announced the death at a media briefing in Midrand on Monday. He said: "With a sad heart, we announce the passing of a presiding officer who collapsed at a voting station and has sadly passed on in Mahikeng."

The injured deputy presiding officer was travelling in the uKhahlamba district of KwaZulu-Natal when the accident happened. The commission said she was taken to hospital.

Sheburi said the commission was recording a strong performance across the country. He said the IEC expected further improvements on the second day of special voting.

Voters can check their voting station by sending their ID number by SMS to 32810. They can also phone the IEC on 0800 11 8000.Share

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) will visit registered addresses on Monday and Tuesday. The visits let approved elderly voters and other special voters cast their ballots before the local government elections on Wednesday, 4 November.

Home Affairs offices will open for extended hours from 2 to 4 November for ID applications and collections. Home Affairs spokesperson Ndileka Cola said the offices will be open from 8 o'clock in the morning to 6 o'clock in the evening.Share

South Africa has over 200 municipalities, and eight of them are metropolitan municipalities. Municipalities provide services to residents, and voters choose the people who run them.

Voters in a local municipality receive three ballot papers. Voters in a metropolitan municipality receive two ballot papers.

The explainer also describes the roles of ward councillors, proportional representation (PR) councillors and mayors.Share

The interdict applies to the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (CATA), the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (CODETA) and their members. The violence has hit parts of Cape Town, including Khayelitsha.

Mawande Jara, chairperson of the Khayelitsha Development Forum, said violence went on for two days in affected communities. He said residents fear to take or use any form of transport.

Jara welcomed the court order. He said: "We are grateful for the High Court decision to ensure that there is stability and calm in our communities".Share

In Tshwane, 25.2% of DA voters named the FF+ as their leading coalition choice. Another 18.6% chose ActionSA, and 33.1% preferred the DA to govern without another party.

In Cape Town, 40.1% of Patriotic Alliance (PA) voters favoured the DA as a partner. Among DA voters there, 18.9% selected the PA.

In Ekurhuleni, 29.3% of ANC voters and 29.4% of MK party voters named the DA as their leading choice. Among DA voters there, 18.5% selected ActionSA and 18.1% selected the FF+.

Many ANC voters preferred no other party as a partner: 20.8% in Johannesburg, 41.7% in Tshwane, 44.6% in Cape Town and 32.4% in Ekurhuleni. The survey was published on 1 November and looked at partner choices, not voting intention.Share

IEC KwaZulu-Natal electoral officer Ntombfuthi Masinga cautioned parties that camp outside voting stations. She said the tables and tents are not official IEC tables. She said parties use them to track who has voted, so they can persuade registered voters who have not yet voted.

Masinga said the tables are not a place for drinking. In her words: "Those are also not tables for people to get drinks and be drunk and start harassing voters before they get into voting stations." She said that if it happens again, the South African Police Service will deal with it.

Reports also gave 331 as the number of high-risk voting stations that police identified nationally. They said 2.6m voters are set to cast special ballots.Share

Dyantyi said police are ready to keep voters safe. She said police had adjusted their deployments and are using intelligence officers to gather information. The deployment comes amid taxi violence and gang activity in the province.

She said law enforcement agencies are working together to keep people safe and let voting go ahead without disruption. Delft was among the places named in connection with the policing plans.

Dyantyi said: "We are excited as law enforcement agencies because it is our duty and task to ensure that we present an environment that is conducive for the people."Share

The official local government election polls are set for 4 November, which is a Wednesday. Early voters cast ballots at the NG Kerk voting station in Umhlanga on Monday.

Neurosurgeon John Naidoo said voting matters even when services fail. He said: "You have to vote. I think there is no point in complaining and saying there are no services; you have to vote."

ActionSA member of Parliament Alan Beesley also voted early. He said he will return to the campaign trail to support others and hopes for a peaceful election.

Reports said campaigning and early voting are going peacefully, with no signs of unrest. KwaZulu-Natal police said at least one protest is planned in Durban.Share

Michael Hendrickse, the IEC's provincial electoral officer in the Western Cape, apologised for the delay. He said the delay was unforeseen, despite the best efforts of the IEC and the printing company that produced the ballots.

Hendrickse said the situation was fluid. He said the delays were across the Cape metro, but voting stations in the outer areas of the province worked smoothly.

He said the IEC would make sure that voters who applied for special votes could vote over the two days. He said all security measures were in place for the transport and delivery of the ballots.

Special voting runs on 2 and 3 November 2026. The IEC approved 2 655 067 voters nationwide for special votes. Election Day is Wednesday, 4 November 2026.Share

Bredell gave the warning in an interview a week before the polls. He said: "It’s a ransom kind of situation where small parties determine who’s going to govern, especially a single small party with one or two seats. That’s a nightmare." He also said multi-party coalitions at local level do not work.

Bredell said a new council would not be able to fix the problems in Oudtshoorn and Theewaterskloof for at least two and a half to three years.

Research by the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (Mistra) found that 80 of 213 municipal councils were hung at some point between the 2021 elections and February 2026. It said 16 of those 80 were in the Western Cape. Those councils produced 175 different governing arrangements.

Dr Lungelwa Kaywood of Stellenbosch University's School of Public Leadership said the province could see more hung councils. She said: "It’s not whether we will have hung councils, it’s how many and where,"Share

Dyantyi spoke on Sunday at the launch of the provincial operations centre of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). She said police are being deployed to specific hotspots. Police assured South Africans of a safe and secure environment in which to vote.

Dyantyi said the operational plan has the approval of NatJoints. She told the launch: "The operational plan has already been approved; hence, I have also mentioned that we did get the thumbs up because we had presented our plan to the NatJoints."Share

Ntshavheni told voters not to back a councillor who serves only personal interests. She said: "Do not vote for a councillor who serves only personal interests; vote for someone you can hold accountable and engage about community problems and challenges."

The elections take place on Wednesday, 4 November. Approved special votes will be cast on 2 and 3 November 2026.

The Electoral Commission urges voters to check their voting station details before Election Day. Voters can send their ID number by WhatsApp to 0600 88 0000. They can also send an SMS to 32810, which costs R1 per SMS.Share

Ntuli said he is confident the elections will take place without incident. He said police are deployed and will be ready. He added that the army is deployed to complement the work of police.

Gauteng has 119 high-risk voting stations. In KwaZulu-Natal, eThekwini has 124 of them. uThukela has 16, Amajuba has 13, Zululand has 11 and Ugu has one.

Ntuli said: "At a government level, we have done everything to ensure that we safeguard the days of the elections."Share

The IEC announced its state of readiness at a media briefing in Midrand on Sunday night. Its chief executive, Sy Mamabolo, spoke about the preparations. One report gave 2.6-million as the number of people expected to vote on Monday and Tuesday.

Separately, the Electoral Court ruled that the EFF nominated Sivuyile Jacquin Tshikila as a ward 03 councillor candidate in the Eastern Cape without his knowledge or consent. The case concerned the Raymond Mhlaba local municipality.

President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke at the ANC's final rally at Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane. He said ANC councillors and mayors who fail to serve communities or misuse public funds will be removed. He said: "We want to place emphasis on making sure we get accountable and capable and ethical people who are going to be elected"Share

Judge Modiba Shongwe delivered the judgment in Bloemfontein on Friday. He said forcing someone to stand for public office against their wishes could undermine their dignity. In the judgment he said: "The EFF cannot coerce the applicant without his consent to stand for office as ward candidate against his will".

Tshikila is a former EFF member and a local leader in KwaMaqoma, in the Eastern Cape. He said he had already left the party when it submitted his name. He also said he never signed a nomination form or gave permission to use his name, and he believes the documents were submitted fraudulently.

Tshikila said he found out on September 16 that he was standing for a party he no longer belonged to. EFF Eastern Cape regional coordinator Veronica Mente gave a different account. She said the person accepted the nomination but withdrew after the period for changes with the IEC had closed. She also said party records show his membership was active.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) must make sure voters cannot cast ballots for him. IEC deputy head of communications David Mandaha is the commission's spokesperson on the matter.Share

The home visits take place on 2 and 3 November. The commission has deployed 127 000 electoral officials for home visits and for special voting at voting stations. KwaZulu-Natal has the most approved home visits of any province, at 143 714.

Mamabolo spoke at a media briefing on Sunday. He said voters who miss the visit are not shut out of the election. In his words, "voters who miss the home visit by the election officials on 2 and 3 November are not disenfranchised".Share

Chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo spoke at a press briefing at the national results centre on Sunday. The ballots were reprinted after a Constitutional Court ruling on 15 October. The court ordered the reinstatement of 181 ANC candidates who missed the candidate-list deadline. The relief was extended to 32 other parties, which affected ballots in 107 municipalities.

More than 2.6 million voters are approved to cast special votes over two days. Of these, 678 525 are approved for home visits, and KwaZulu-Natal has the most visits at 143 000. Nearly 2 million voters are approved to vote at voting stations, and Gauteng has the most, at 391 000. The commission deployed 127 000 electoral officials for home visits and special voting.

Mamabolo said weather forecasts show a high possibility of rain in parts of KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Mpumalanga over the next two days. He said voters who miss the home visit are not disenfranchised. They can still vote at their voting station on 4 November.

The commission accredited 117 domestic observer groups. About 15 African electoral commissions take part in its international visitors programme.Share

Ntombfuthi Masinga, the provincial electoral officer of the IEC in KwaZulu-Natal, asked voters to learn the rules at voting stations. Campaigning is banned there. Photographing ballot papers is also banned.

Masinga said taking a picture of the ballot paper after voting is an electoral offence and that offenders will be arrested. She said: "We do not allow you to take a picture of the ballot paper once you have voted at the voting station."

On main voting day, voting stations open at 7 in the morning and close at 9 at night. The IEC said it is ready for the polls.Share

IEC Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo spoke at a media briefing on Sunday night. He said 678 525 approved special votes will be cast at residences, for voters with a physical infirmity or disability. Another 1 976 542 will be cast at registered voting stations.

Gauteng has the most approved special voters, at 480 721. The Eastern Cape has 401 971 and KwaZulu-Natal has 348 971. KwaZulu-Natal has the most approved home visits, at 143 714, and Gauteng has the most station-based special votes, at 391 589.

Special votes will be counted with the Election Day ballots. Mamabolo said: "Voters are reminded that they can only vote where they are registered." Voters can check their special vote status by SMS to 32711, at R1 per message.Share