These elections are held every five years. The previous municipal elections were held in 2021. The fifth term of local government in South Africa will end on 1 November 2026. On 13 November 2024, South African Minister in The Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, announced in Cape Town that the elections would be held between 2 November 2026 and 1 February 2027.[1]
The South African cabinet has approved the establishment of an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) that will oversee preparations for the 2026 Local Government Elections. The IMC will be convened by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Velenkosini Hlabisa, and consists of several government departments that are key to ensuring the delivery of successful elections.
The IMC will work with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) and other relevant bodies to ensure that the process leading to the elections is smooth and peaceful.[1]
As with all major governmental elections in South Africa, the 2026 municipal elections will be organized by the country's independent election management body, the Electoral Commission of South Africa. This is as per the body's establishment under chapter nine of the Constitution, and as per its obligations in Section 190 of the Constitution, and duties in Section 5 of the Electoral Commission Act, 1996.[2]
Electoral system
Local government in South Africa consists of municipalities of various types. The largest metropolitan areas are governed by metropolitan municipalities, while the rest of the country is divided into district municipalities, each of which consists of several local municipalities. After the 2016 elections, there were eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district municipalities and 205 local municipalities.[3]
The latter takes into account the number of ward seats won by a party and ensures that the final number of seats held by that party is proportional to their percentage of the total vote.[4]
District municipality councils are partly elected by proportional representation (DC 40% votes) and partly appointed by the councils of the constituent local municipalities (DC 60% votes). Voters in both metropolitan and local municipalities elect a single ward candidate as well as a proportional representative in their municipal council.
Residents of municipalities that form part of district councils (that is, excluding metropolitan municipalities) also cast a third vote to elect a proportional representative for their district council in addition to the two votes they cast for their local council.[5][6]
As South Africa's current President, and Leader of the ANC, Cyril Ramaphosa, is limited by his two terms in office, he will not be representing his party as Leader during the 2026 Municipal Elections.[9][10] His replacement has yet to be determined.
Online voter registration
In 2025, the IEC acknowledged the effectiveness of online voter self-registration in South Africa, which was rolled out during the 2021 municipal elections.[11]
The Commission stated that the online registration system was positively impacting the maintenance of the voters roll, and the currency of the voters’ information on the roll.[11]
New voters
In April 2025, the IEC announced that 258,838 new voters had registered via its various platforms, and that the majority of them were young people.[11]
Funding
As is a standard in South African elections, political parties received public funding for the 2026 South African municipal elections. Over R355 million from the national budget for the 2024 financial year was provided to 20 political parties by the IEC.[11]
The Electoral Commission noted a decline in political fundraising activity, with fewer parties declaring donations exceeding the R100,000 threshold (as required by South African law) than in the period leading up to the 2024 general election.[11]
Electronic voting
South Africa uses a system of physical ballots for all of its elections, and has not used electronic voting before. In April 2025, the IEC confirmed that no form of evoting would be used in the 2026 municipal elections. This followed a 3-day conference, held by the Commission, which started a national discussion on evoting's feasibility and possible implementation for future elections.[11]
The Chief Director of the National Treasury’s Public Finance Division, Gillian Wilson, said at a conference in March 2025 that it should not be assumed that evoting would save money during elections. She further stated that it is likely that evoting would be a significant expense, and that a thorough cost analysis should be conducted before a decision is made.[11]
Wilson also noted that costs for national and provincial elections had increased by 294% from 1994 to 2024, and for local elections by 193% from 2001 to 2021. Factors for the increases include inflation, campaign expenses, and logistics contributed to the rising costs.[11]
Municipal wards
For municipal elections, South African voters submit ballots within their ward, which is based on the area in which they primarily reside (and therefore register to vote in). Voters are represented by a particular Ward Councilor, who may or may not have an affiliation with a political party.
In May 2025, the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) said that its work for South African municipal ward delimitations was well on track. At the time, South Africa had 4,468 wards.[12]
Wards are split if the increase in the number of people residing within them exceeds the norm (the increase across all wards during the 5 year period between elections). Ward splitting is heavily regulated in South Africa, and as part of the splitting process, motivations for wanting to do so must be put forward and assessed. It must be indicated what the implications of the splitting are, whether doing so would be in contravention of the South African Constitution, and whether people are being segregated or communities are being split up in an inappropriate manner.[12]
As part of the process, the MDB embarked on a countrywide ward delimitation public consultation process. Applications for the redetermination of municipal wards are received by the MDB, following which there is a 14-day period during which members of the public can provide objections. Subsequently, it goes to the Board for decision making. If a ward is split, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) informs voters, and re-registers them as part of their new wards. The IEC also confirms that its voting district boundaries align with the wards. As at May 2025, the IEC had a total of 23,292 voting districts.[12]
The Board stated that it would hand over its report on ward delimitations to the IEC in October 2025.[12]
With a 45.59% vote share, the African National Congress (ANC) was the largest party in the previous municipal election, which took place in 2021. However, having slipped below 50 per cent this was the party's worst showing in municipal elections since the introduction of universal suffrage. The ANC has seen a precipitous decline in its vote share in municipal elections since its peak in 2011, when it managed 64.82%.
Some of the steepest drops in the ANC vote share occurred in South Africa's largest cities. In the three Gauteng metropolitan municipalities (Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane) the ANC's vote share dropped into the 30 per cent range, while Buffalo City was the only metropolitan municipality where it managed to win an absolute majority. Despite this decline the ANC still holds six out of the eight mayoral posts in metro areas as well as being a part of the ruling coalition in Tshwane.[13]
South Africa's second-largest party, the Democratic Alliance, saw a decrease in vote share in the 2021 municipal elections, however they gained 8 municipalities to achieve the highest result in that regard in recent years. This is the second municipal election for the party under the leadership of John Steenhuisen. The City of Johannesburg is a key metro area for the party.
This is also the first municipal election during which the Democratic Alliance has been part of the South African Government. In prior such elections, the party held the status of official opposition, however for the 2026 elections, they will be part of the Government of National Unity (GNU) - President Ramaphosa's Third Cabinet.
The newly-formed uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party will be contesting municipal elections for the first time in 2026. Its leadership has stated that the party is focused on numerous metropolitan areas in Gauteng, with the goal of unseating the ANC. The party, which is the country's third-largest in terms of seats in Parliament, received 15% of the vote in the 2024 general election.[14]
The South African Communist Party (SACP) has registered as a political party, and intends to contest the 2026 elections. While the SACP has historically backed the ANC, it is now running independently. In recent years, the ANC-SACP alliance has fractured, with the SACP becoming increasingly critical of the ANC’s economic policies, governance, and handling of corruption scandals.[15] The only time the SACP has contested an election independently of the ANC was during the Metsimaholo Municipality by-elections in 2017.[16]
The IEC initially stated that the SACP did not meet the eligibility requirements to run and instructed the party to deregister itself for the 2026 elections. Along with other parties instructed by the IEC to deregister, the SACP did not meet the statutory requirements, were not represented in any legislative body, had not contested local government elections since their registration, and had failed to renew their registration by the 31 January 2025 deadline.[15] However, the IEC later deemed the SACP fit to contest the election, and cleared the party to do so.[17]
Party deregistration
In April 2025, the IEC announced that, as part of standard administration procedures, it intended to deregister 192 political parties. Of those parties, 136 had made representations to preserve their status as registered parties. 3 political parties asked the IEC to cancel their registrations, and 53 parties did not respond to the invitation to make representations.[11]
The IEC stated at the time that the cancellation of registrations of inactive political parties was necessary to ensure that only active political parties remained on the party register. The Commission also said that the cancellation of inactive parties would free the usage of names, abbreviated names, logos, and color schemes for aspirant parties.[11]
Timeline
2024
6 November: South African Minister in The Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, announced in Cape Town that the next municipal elections would be held between 2 November 2026 and 1 February 2027.[1]
13 December: COSATU, South Africa's largest trade union, stated that it was still not sure whether it would back the African National Congress (ANC) or South African Communist Party (SACP) in the 2026 elections. It has traditionally had an alliance with both entities, and 2026 is the first major election wherein the ANC and SACP will run separately.[18]
2025
15 January: ActionSA and the Forum 4 Service Delivery (F4SD) announce a merger, whereby they will contest the upcoming election together under the former's banner, but retain dual membership to protect their existing municipal representation. Herman Mashaba stated that this was a step towards uniting opposition parties to stand against the GNU and the EFF-MK coalition.[19]
23 April: The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) announced in Centurion that it had commenced preparations for the 2026 election. The Commission also announced the political party funding allocation.
9 June: Helen Zille, Federal Council Chairperson and former leader of the Democratic Alliance, announced that she was seriously considering running for the position of Mayor of Johannesburg. She further stated that she would focus on stabilizing the city's finances and working to fix mismanagement. Zille said she would make her decision public before the 15 June 2025 candidate application deadline.[20]
15 June: It was reported that Helen Zille had submitted her application before the deadline, to run for Mayor of Johannesburg. Zille said she had been approached by fellow DA members who wanted her to run for the office, for quite some time, before making the announcement.[21]
26 June: President Ramaphosa sent a letter to DA Deputy Minister Andrew Whitfield, firing him for insubordination. Whitfield had previously broken a well-regulated Parliamentary rule, that prohibits members of the National Assembly from conducting official overseas travel without Presidential approval. Whitfield, without Ramaphosa's approval, traveled to the United States as part of a 2025 delegation. He had applied for permission to travel, but had not received a response. He decided to travel anyway, thus breaking the rule. The President has thanked the former deputy minister for the time he served in the role. At the time, no reason for the dismissal was made public.[22]
26 June: Leader of the DA, John Steenhuisen issued an ultimatum to the President, stating that Ramaphosa had not acted in a similar manner towards ANC members accused of or guilty of corruption, such as Thembi Simelane, David Mahlobo, and Zweli Mkhize. Steenhuisen also stated that Ramaphosa had not facilitated a discussion around the dismissal with anyone from the DA, which would have been a common courtesy. The ultimatum demanded that the President remove sitting ANC cabinet members Thembi Simelane and Nobuhle Nkabane within 48 hours, or the DA would bring about unspecified consequences.[23]
28 June: After cancelling an official visit to Seville, Spain, and delegating the task to Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola, President Ramaphosa issued a statement condemning the DA ultimatum. The President said he fired Whitfield for breach of parliamentary rules, confirmed that he had the authority and responsibility to unilaterally do so, and said that he had informed Steenhuisen of his decision to do so prior to sending Whitfield the termination letter. The President stated that he would not yield to threats, and that there were no grounds for the DA to issue the kind of ultimatum that it had.[24]
28 June: The DA withdrew from the proposed South African National Dialogue, saying it would be a waste of taxpayer funds. The party also stated that unless Ramaphosa did something about various ANC Ministers accused of corruption, the DA would boycott voting for those Ministers' Departmental budgets. The party threatened this despite being part of the National Government, which brings an expectation of voting for such fiscal bills. Steenhuisen said the DA Federal Executive had considered tabling a motion of no confidence against the President, but decided against it, so as not to cause political instability for South Africans.[25]
21 July: After it was determined that then-Minister of Higher Education Nobuhle Nkabane had lied to Parliament, that her so-called SETA appointment panel had been a farce, and after she missed a Parliamentary hearing about her conduct relating to the SETA board appointment matter, President Ramaphosa fired her. Nkabane’s Deputy Minister, Buti Manamela, was sworn in as the new Minister, alongside new Deputy Minister, Nomsa Ncube-Dube. Following these shifts, the Democratic Alliance said that it would continue to vote on budget bills.[26]
23 July: After a session at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, the National Assembly passed an Appropriation Bill (budget). This paves the way for the approval of the full schedule of votes for 42 Departmental and other entities, as well as the second reading of the Bill. The Bill easily reached, and significantly surpassed, the required 201-vote simple majority to pass it, with 262 votes in favor. The ANC, DA, GOOD, IFP, PA, FF+, ActionSA, UDM, Al-Jama-ah, BOSA, Rise Mzansi, and PAC voted in favor of the bill, signifying a positive unity within the coalition National Government.[27]
31 July: Deputy President Paul Mashatile, a member of the ANC, declared ownership of two luxury properties with a combined value of R65 million. One property worth R37 million is located in Waterfall, Midrand. The other, a R28.9 million home in Constantia, Cape Town, is one that Mashatile previously denied owning, instead saying it was owned by his son-in-law’s company. Other properties were also declared to be owned by Mashatile. Mashatile’s office stated that no provincial or national Department under the his oversight as Deputy President has ever been awarded, been accused of awarding, or investigated for awarding tenders to any companies linked to his family. The Hawks' (Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation) National Spokesperson, Brigadier Thandi Mbambo, confirmed that the unit was investigating corruption-related claims involving funds used to purchase the Constantia home.[28][29]
1 August: Following an announcement that Deputy President Paul Mashatile had not declared a diamond gifted to his wife by diamond dealer Louis Liebenberg, the Parliamentary Joint Ethics Committee decided to sanction him. President Cyril Ramaphosa distanced himself from the issue, stating that Mashatile should answer for himself. The issue sparked calls for increased government accountability.[30] The Democratic Alliance called for a probe into Mashatile, saying the Parliamentary rebuke and fine was not enough.[31]
5 August: Numerous minority parties in Johannesburg's Government of Local Unity (GLU) threatened to withdraw their support for the ANC, within the city council. The minority parties stated they did not feel respected by the ANC, and that they were not being recognized by the ANC as founding members of the GLU. Interim Chair of the Johannesburg Minority Governing Parties (MGP) stated that the Johannesburg Finance MMC position should go to one of its members, instead of a member of the ANC. Following the statements, the ANC commented that it had not transgressed any agreement, and had enough votes to continue governing Johannesburg should the minority parties withdraw their support.[32]
6 August: ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula accused the Democratic Alliance, a GNU member, of being the catalyst for the recently-implemented punitive tariffs, and threats of sanctions of ANC leaders, by the United States. Mbalula said the reason for this was the DA's supposed campaigning against South Africa's transformative policies during the party's travels to the US. He accused the DA of making statements supporting undoing Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policies in South Africa, merely to appease the United States Government. Mbalula reaffirmed the South African Government's support for BEE policies, and dared the US to impose sanctions on ANC leaders, saying that such threats by US congressional members would not deter the ANC from pursuing its transformation agenda.[33]
11 August: Former COSATUtrade unionist and Mail & Guardian political commentator, Ebrahim Harvey, endorsed Helen Zille, Chairperson of the Democratic Alliance Federal Council, for the position of Mayor of Johannesburg. Harvey said that Johannesburg is in its worst state of decay in history, and acknowledged Cape Town as South Africa's best-run metropolitan municipality. He further stated that Zille’s track record as a former Cape Town Mayor and Western Cape Premier makes her one of the best-suited candidates to turn Johannesburg around.[34]
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