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ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa gave the keynote address at the ANC Siyanqoba rally in KuGompo City on Sunday. He said: "We only win by convincing voters that this election is important." He also said the ANC has a clear and credible plan to build better communities.

The EFF held its Tshela Thupa rally at Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Saturday. EFF leader Julius Malema said municipalities have been captured by service providers, contractors, corrupt officials and politicians. The DA held its final rally in Mamelodi, Tshwane, on Saturday, where federal leader Geordin Hill-Lewis urged supporters to make the DA the biggest party in the country.

The MK party held its Sithatha Omasipala rally on Sunday. Party leader Jacob Zuma was expected to give the keynote address. The R54bn is meant mainly to fix water and electricity infrastructure.

Opposition parties said they expect the ANC to perform poorly. They said voters have grown disillusioned with poor service delivery.Share

The IEC is set to brief the media on its state of readiness for the two-day special voting period. The approved applications cover the whole country.

General election day is Wednesday 4 November. Special voting takes place on the two days before it.Share

Committee chairperson Thebe Khumalo spoke in a statement ahead of the elections. He said: "no political contest is worth a single life lost and no political difference justifies violence, intimidation or the destruction of community relations."

The committee said law enforcement visibility should be a priority at the high-risk stations and areas. A related article refers to 331 high-risk voting stations that the South African Police Service (SAPS) identified for the municipal polls.Share

Kekana spoke at a media briefing hosted by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi on gender-based violence and femicide. He said police plans work with local traffic police, private security companies and the SANDF soldiers deployed in the province. He said all high-risk stations get special planning, resources and guarding.

Johannesburg has 75 of the high-risk stations in Gauteng. Ekurhuleni has 23 and Tshwane has 14. The West Rand has three and Sedibeng has one.

Nationwide, police have named 331 voting stations as high-risk. The eThekwini metro in KwaZulu-Natal has 124 of them. National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola said the week before that the SAPS is ready to ensure safe, secure and peaceful elections.Share

The ANC is holding its final Siyanqoba rally in eThekwini. The MK Party is also holding its final rally there. The IFP is holding its final rally in Ulundi.

Reports said early voting opens on Monday morning. Zuma spent about a week in hospital before the rallies.

The ANC has governed eThekwini, the only metro in KwaZulu-Natal, for 26 years. Several polls predict that its support will fall further. Polls also predict that the MK Party will be the biggest party in the metro.Share

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa chairs the committee. He called on South Africans to protect democracy and take part peacefully. He said: "Your vote matters. Your voice matters. Your participation matters."

The Electoral Commission (IEC) says its results system is fit for purpose after independent testing and auditing. It says it addressed all findings. The National Results Operations Centre will coordinate results from 23 696 voting stations.

The committee said registration weekends in June and August led to almost 4.7 million interactions with voters. More than 750 000 new voters joined the roll. People under 29 made up 46% of new registrations in the final weekend.

The Department of Home Affairs is extending front-office hours for identity documents. The South African Weather Service said current forecasts do not point to significant adverse weather on election day. It said monitoring must continue.Share

McKenzie made the claims in a series of posts on X. He said other parties increasingly show willingness to work with the ANC. He said the EFF and the MK Party moved from refusing to join the Government of National Unity (GNU) to joining only if the DA and FF Plus stay out.

McKenzie accused the DA of alienating possible partners through its treatment of smaller parties during campaigns. He said the ANC was more accommodating. He named George, Saldanha Bay, Matzikama, Stellenbosch, the Cape Town metro and Swellendam as places where the DA will lose its majority.

He also said ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula is irritated with the DA, and that Mbalula's criticism matches that of Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi. McKenzie wrote: "The DA will have no leverage left in a few days."Share

The briefing will take place at the National Results Operations Centre. The co-chairs of the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) will also speak on the readiness of the security cluster. The special votes are set for 2 and 3 November.

The Electoral Commission approved 678 525 home visit applications for 2026. That is 171 118 (33.7%) more than the 507 407 approved in 2021. In 2021 the commission approved 1 147 759 special vote applications in all.

Online platforms received 2 426 066 of the applications. Staff captured another 171 214 manual applications at commission offices.

National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola said the South African Police Service is operationally ready to secure the elections. He said: "We have been planning for these elections for several months".Share

The committee issued its statement on Sunday, ahead of the Local Government Elections on 4 November 2026. It said: "no political contest is worth a single life lost and no political difference justifies violence, intimidation or the destruction of community relations".

Approved special votes will be cast on 2 and 3 November 2026. The Electoral Commission approved 2 655 067 special vote applications for these elections. That is a 131% increase on the 1 147 759 approved for the 2021 elections.

The South African Local Government Association urged registered voters to make the election a priority. The statement also highlighted coordination between the Electoral Commission and law enforcement.Share

The rally takes place in Mdantsane in the Eastern Cape, outside Ku-Gompo City. Reports give the venue as the Sisa Dukashe Stadium, though one spelling reads Siza Dukashe.

Ramaphosa, who is the ANC president, said the party's message has resonated with the voters.Share

The party also plans provincial mini rallies at four sites to close its campaign. Locations named include Knysna in the Western Cape and Bethlehem in the Free State.

Buffalo City is one of two metros where the ANC currently holds a clear majority. One report said the party faces a real prospect of losing the metro. It said Ramaphosa is expected to urge the party's faithful supporters to come out in their numbers.Share

Reports said the bodies of the women were dumped across Ekurhuleni. Places named include Kempton Park, Tembisa, Springs and Kwa-Thema. The province's action plan includes tighter monitoring of police stations, audits and a crackdown on unlicensed liquor outlets.

The briefing follows a directive from President Cyril Ramaphosa to address attacks on women. Ramaphosa announced a four-point national intervention plan to tackle gender-based violence.

Provincial measures named include a 60-day audit of unresolved cases involving women and children. They also include 90-day recovery plans for priority cases and steps to process forensic backlogs.Share

Ramokgopa said some observers claim that liberalisation of the industry in countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia has failed. He said they link it to high electricity prices in those countries.

He said South Africa is taking a cautious approach to avoid unintended consequences. On reform, Ramokgopa said: "It mustn’t have the unintended consequences of driving up your cost of electricity."

He spoke on the sidelines of the annual forum, which the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation organises in the Drakensberg in KwaZulu-Natal.Share

The weather service issued the outlook for voters in the 2026 Local Government Elections. It covers special voting days and Election Day. Areas named include the Northern Cape, North West, Limpopo, the Lowveld of Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the eastern Drakensberg.

The weather service said parts of the country are likely to get below-normal rainfall and above-normal temperatures. It linked this to the developing El Niño weather pattern.

The weather service also gave advice to voters: "Voters are encouraged to plan their journeys accordingly, particularly in areas where afternoon thunderstorms are expected."Share

Motlanthe spoke on the sidelines of the Drakensberg Inclusive Growth Forum, which his foundation hosted. Asked about the removed members, he said: "The process, the procedures, the guidelines were very clear".

He also spoke about the candidate lists sent to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Motlanthe said 97% of constituency candidates were submitted as required. He said 181 names were uploaded on the IEC website without the final submit button being clicked. He said the ANC missed the chance to submit its lists and had to go through the Constitutional Court.

Motlanthe said parties should campaign all the time and not rely on costly last-minute mobilisation. At the forum he also said South Africa should invest revenue from its minerals in infrastructure, industrialisation and skills. He said the country should consider a sovereign wealth fund. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and Trade Minister Parks Tau attended the three-day forum.Share

In her letter, Wenger asked Transport Minister Barbara Creecy to give imported medicines priority at the Port of Durban. She said measures to manage inconsistent medicine supplies are becoming increasingly difficult as shortages persist.

Wenger said: "Every unnecessary delay in getting medicines into the country is another delay in getting them to the patients who need them."

The Durban terminal handles 46% of South Africa's container traffic. Twelve thousand containers were diverted from the port last month to clear a growing backlog. A Filipino company now runs the terminal under a 25-year contract.Share

IFP Chief Whip Nhlanhla Hadebe said that if the disruptions continue, voters may struggle to reach polling stations. He also said fear and uncertainty could discourage people from taking part.

The party urged the authorities to resolve the long-standing dispute between taxi associations. Hadebe said: "This violence raises serious concerns about the ability of affected communities to exercise their democratic right to vote freely, safely, and without intimidation."Share

Malema said he received the list three days earlier. He claimed the State Security Agency (SSA) used public money to infiltrate the EFF and Fees Must Fall. He said the aim was to divide the party and win members back to the ANC.

Malema also claimed there were efforts to collapse the EFF and place it under the leadership of Jacob Zuma and the MK Party. He said advocate Dali Mpofu proposed that the EFF dissolve and regroup under Zuma. Malema said this happened at a meeting of opposition parties that Zuma convened before the May 2024 election.

The allegations come up in a theft and fraud trial in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria. The accused are former SSA members Patrick Mshothola and Thulani Dlomo. Evidence in court says former state security minister David Mahlobo instructed the payout of the R12 million, including R160 000 to an official in his office.

Malema told the crowd: "They failed. We defeated them. The EFF remains intact."Share

Ramaphosa, who is ANC president, said councillors must hold regular meetings. He said they must publish budgets, put the budget on the notice board, show audit outcomes and account for every cent.

He also spoke about how fast councillors must act. In his words: "They will have 100 days to show real progress on the issues that matter most in each municipality".Share

The party removed some disgruntled councillor candidates from its eThekwini list. This raised questions about unity. MK Party eThekwini regional chairperson Mkhanka Zuma said councillors lost their places through list manipulation because they took a stand to vote for the party.

Mkhanka Zuma said those councillors still plan to vote for the MK Party. He said the party stays confident about its prospects. He said: "I can confidently tell you that we are going to win a municipality between 60 and 72%."

The party contests 112 wards in the eThekwini metro. More than 70 political parties contest wards in the metro.Share

Healey made the remark in an interview with Channel 4. Asked whether he agreed that the UK should rejoin the EU in his lifetime, he said he did not expect it. Reports said Burnham had told Cabinet ministers to follow collective responsibility on the UK's future relationship with Europe.

Burnham has said he wants the UK to rejoin in his lifetime. He also said: "I'm not going to move ahead of the public." Some accusers claim he is gagging Eurosceptic frontbenchers. One report said 13 Cabinet ministers opposed rejoining, but it did not name its source.

Critics also accused Healey of raiding contingency funds to meet military commitments. A senior Labour MP said he is kicking security "into the long grass".Share

Stubb and Støre said the call followed a meeting in Oslo on 20 October and took place in consultation with Ukraine. Stubb said the call was frank and substantive. He said Russia's neighbours have a direct stake in how the war ends.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said: "It was not coordinated with any of us." She also said Europe should stick together rather than go alone, according to Danish media. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also cast doubt on the move. Støre said Europe should speak with Russia to complement the messages sent by the US administration.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the call offered nothing new. The Kremlin said Russia's interests must be taken into account in any settlement.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Wednesday that European nations will not be invited to the next Russia-US-Ukraine talks. Moscow has agreed in principle to a fourth round, with mid-November and Abu Dhabi floated. Three rounds have so far excluded Europe, as US President Donald Trump presses Kyiv to strike a deal.Share

Malema claimed that criminal syndicates take over hijacked buildings and charge vulnerable residents rent. He said conversions would let workers live closer to their jobs and students stay near their campuses. He said that from the 5th of November, occupying a building in Johannesburg would be treated as criminal.

Malema said the EFF has been the most stable coalition partner in local government. He said the party opened a criminal case against the mayor of Tshwane and the City Manager over unsafe water in Bronkorstspruit.

He accused municipal officials and councillors of corruption and tender manipulation that undermine services. He claimed jobs go to people with political connections and that some councillors demand sexual favours for work. He also said some officials delay or cancel projects to protect corrupt interests and secure kickbacks.

He said: "The collapse of our municipalities is not an accident. It is a business model."Share

Ramokgopa said the range covers the phase in which control of the power grid passes to an independent Transmission System Operator. He spoke on the sidelines of the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation's annual forum in the Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal.

He said South Africa is taking a cautious approach to electricity reform to avoid unintended consequences. Some observers say that liberalisation of the industry in countries like the United Kingdom and Australia failed and led to high electricity prices.

Ramokgopa said the department is working on the matter with the Presidency and the National Treasury.Share

The video was Zuma's first public statement since he left hospital. The MK Party posted it on its social media platforms. Zuma urged registered voters to back uMkhonto weSizwe.

Zuma said: "I am wishing that everyone will vote and vote correctly, but more than anything, vote for uMkhonto weSizwe." He also said his new political home is the only one that can bring change.

Several election polls say the MK Party is likely to become the biggest political organisation in eThekwini after the elections.Share

Provincial Electoral Officer Bonolo Modise said all material needed for a successful election has been delivered to the offices of the municipal electoral officers (MEO). The Electoral Commission says the final dispatch is meant to ensure smooth voting.

Modise said the commission has prepared as far as it can. In his words: "We have done what’s reasonably possible to make sure that we are ready for elections on the 4th of November."Share

Hill-Lewis told supporters that the DA is a party for all South Africans. He said it stays committed to serving every community across the country.

He rejected claims by critics that the party serves only one racial group. In his words: "There are those who say the DA is only for one race. Do not believe them. They are liars."Share

Cachalia said the job had to be advertised twice because there was no suitable candidate. He said he wanted someone dynamic and strategic, who the public appreciates.

The minister said he wanted a person able to take the fight to the cartels. He said he believes his decision was the right one.Share