2026 South African municipal elections

The 2026 South African municipal elections will be held across South Africa, to elect councils for all district, metropolitan and local municipalities in each of the country's nine provinces.^[1] A total of 508 political parties registered to participate in the elections.^[3] The total number of voting districts heading into the elections was 4,488.^[4]

As of December 2025, a total of 27.67 million South Africans were registered to vote, according to the Electoral Commission. The largest voting block was citizens aged 30 through 39 years old. 55% of registered voters were female.^[5]

These will be the first elections to be held following the formation of the Government of National Unity in 2024. With elections held every five years, 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]

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.^[6] 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]

In 2025, the IEC acknowledged the effectiveness of online voter self-registration in South Africa, which was rolled out during the 2021 municipal elections.^[7]

In April 2025, the IEC announced that 258,838 new voters had registered through its various platforms, and that the majority of them were young people.^[7]

As is 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.^[7]

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.^[7]

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 e-voting would be used in the 2026 municipal elections. This followed a 3-day conference, held by the Commission, which started a national discussion on the feasibility and possible implementation for future elections.^[7]

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 e-voting 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.^[7]

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.^[7]

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 Councillor, 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.^[8]

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 years 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 inappropriately.^[8]

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 of May 2025, the IEC had a total of 23,292 voting districts.^[8]

The board stated that it would hand over its report on ward delimitations to the IEC in October 2025.^[8]

In December 2025, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Velenkosini Hlabisa confirmed that the MDB had increased the number of wards in South Africa by 20, shifting the total to 4,488. He also stated that outer municipal boundaries would remain unchanged ahead of the 2026/27 election, to ensure stability. The Minister emphasized that municipal wards are the foundation of local democracy, providing clear responsibilities for councilors, ensuring fair representation, and enabling municipalities to plan, allocate resources, and deliver services effectively.^[4]

South Africans register to vote once, and remain on the voters' roll indefinitely. Citizens can update their personal details, such as submit a change of address, via an online portal run by the Electoral Commission. Voters register where they live primarily, and vote at a voting station allocated to them, based on their area of registration. Voters can also request to vote from elsewhere, such as if they are on holiday in another city.

In November 2025, the Electoral Commission of South Africa confirmed that from January through September 2025, over 305,200 new voters had registered, while over 60,700 existing voters had updated their registration details. In a speech in November 2025, Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Masego Shiburi encouraged more South Africans to register to vote.^[9]

Voter registration weekends are scheduled to take place in June and August 2026.^[10]

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.^[11]

The councils of metropolitan and local municipalities are elected through a system of mixed-member proportional representation, in which half of the seats in each municipality are elected on the first-past-the-post system in single-member wards and the other half of the seats are allocated according to the proportional representation (PR) system.

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.^[12]

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.^{[13][14][15][16]}

A total of 508 political parties registered to contest the 2026 local elections. The total included 62 new parties since the previous municipal election. Of the 508 parties, 295 were registered at the national level, while 404 were registered at the provincial level.^[3]

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.^[17]

South Africa's second-largest party, the Democratic Alliance, saw a decrease in vote share in the 2021 municipal elections; however, it 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 to unseat 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.^[18]

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.^[19] The only time the SACP has contested an election independently of the ANC was during the Metsimaholo Municipality by-elections in 2017.^[20]

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, was not represented in any legislative body, had not contested local government elections since its registration, and had failed to renew its registration by the 31 January 2025 deadline.^[19] However, the IEC later deemed the SACP fit to contest the election and cleared the party to do so.^[21]

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.^[7]

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.^[7]

• 15 April: An IRR opinion poll showed that for the first time in history, the Democratic Alliance (DA) was more popular among voters than the African National Congress (ANC).^[22][23]
• 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]

• 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.^[24]

• 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.

• 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.^[25]

• 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 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.^[26][27]

• 8 September: Floyd Shivambu announced his new political party, the Afrika Mayibuye Movement, during a media briefing in Johannesburg. Shivambu stated that the party had already been registered in terms of the Electoral Commission Act of 1996, allowing it to contest elections. He further said that the party would contest all wards in the 2026 local government elections.^[28]

• 16 September: The Patriotic Alliance (PA) announced that its candidate for Mayor of Johannesburg was the party's Deputy President, Kenny Kunene. This, despite Kunene's existing suspension. The party also announced that, despite being sworn in just 1 month prior, Johannesburg Councilor Liam Jacobs would resign from the position and become the PA’s mayoral candidate for Cape Town.^[29]

• 20 September: The Democratic Alliance (DA) named Helen Zille as the party's candidate for Mayor of Johannesburg. If elected Mayor, Zille promised better delivery of water, electricity, road repair, and refuse services. She had submitted her application to run on 15 June.^[30][31]

• 26 September: PA Leader Gayton McKenzie stated that his party felt it was part of a coalition where it is not respected, and would therefore withdraw from the Government of National Unity (GNU) on 30 September 2025. He further stated that he would resign as Minister of Sport, Arts, and Culture on the same day. McKenzie had given Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero an ultimatum to reinstate PA Deputy President Kenny Kunene to his former Mayco member for transport role, or have the PA withdraw from the city's coalition government. Morero did not do so. In McKenzie's statement, he confirmed that the PA would withdraw from coalitions at all levels of government. If followed through on, the PA would be the first party to exit the GNU.^[32]

• 1 October: After a meeting with the ANC, the PA announced that the two parties had found common ground, and that the PA would not leave the governing coalition.^[33]

• 1 October: Leader of the Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party and Member of Parliament, Julius Malema, was convicted of five offenses, including the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, illegally firing a weapon in public, and reckless endangerment. These offenses related to an EFF rally, at which Malema fired between 14 and 15 live rounds on a stage, in front of 20,000 EFF supporters. Known for his belligerence, Malema will undergo pre-sentencing in January 2026, where, under South African law, he faces a minimum prison sentence of 15 years. Furthermore, as per the Constitution of South Africa, should he receive a sentence of 12 months or more, without the option of a fine, and fails to have the judgement overturned on appeal, Malema will be barred from serving as a Member of Parliament for five years.^[34]

• 4 October: ActionSA announced that Xolani Khumalo was their mayoral candidate for Ekurhuleni.^[35]

• 5 October: The leaders of three minor political parties, Mmusi Maimane, Songezo Zibi and Patricia de Lille ( BOSA, Rise Mzansi and Good respectively), announced the formation of a new political party (Unite for Change). While the party will contest the municipal elections under one banner, the parties' previously elected officials will continue to sit as members of the party they were elected as. ^[36]

• 12 October: It was reported that the ANC was considering breaking tradition and announcing its Johannesburg mayoral candidate. Historically, the party has not done this; however, DA candidate Helen Zille's high-profile candidacy may force the ANC to announce someone in an attempt to retain control of the metro.^[37]

• 21 October: COSATU, SA's largest trade union, said it had yet to decide which of its former tripartite alliance partners to back in the 2026 local elections. This is the first election where the SACP and ANC are running against one another, and COSATU is expected to back one of the parties.^[38]

• 24 October: Just three months after its formation, the Afrika Mayibuye Movement (AMM) removed the party's first Deputy President, Nolubabalo Mcinga, due to misconduct. Mcinga had recently been involved in a fallout with party leader Floyd Shivambu. She also had an unsanctioned meeting on behalf of the party with a PR firm, and an unsanctioned meeting with MK leader Jacob Zuma.^[39]

• 3 November: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa reconfirmed that the Government of National Unity (GNU) would remain. He further said that the 16-month-old coalition government was intent on finding more ways to work together and focusing on how best to improve the lives of South Africans. The announcement followed a retreat (strategic session) with GNU party leaders, with no agenda and a mandate to keep matters private, so that leaders could speak freely with each other about how best to work together in the continued GNU. President Ramaphosa said the retreat went "exceptionally well", that leaders had celebrated the GNU's progress and transformational work, and that further such meetings would happen. Other GNU party leaders also stated that the retreat was a success.^[40]

• 4 November: The Electoral Commission confirmed that 508 political parties had registered to contest the 2026 local elections. The total included 62 new parties since the last municipal election. Of the 508 parties, 295 were registered at the national level, while 404 were registered at the provincial level.^[3]

• 5 December: The Electoral Commission of South Africa announced that it would launch a new podcast platform and updated WhatsApp channel in 2026, as part of an initiative to motivate more young South Africans to participate in the democratic process by voting in elections.^[41]

• 19 January: It was reported that the ANC considered South African billionaire and founder of mining company African Rainbow Minerals Patrice Motsepe as a high quality candidate to run for its party leadership, and succeed then-present leader Cyril Ramaphosa. Motsepe, who serves on the Board of the World Economic Forum and as the President of the Confederation of African Football, had not yet confirmed an interest in running for the ANC position.^[42]

• 20 January: Leader of the Patriotic Alliance and Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie sparked outrage over his actions resulting in South Africa withdrawing from the 61st Venice Biennale, a contemporary art exhibition with an international following. McKenzie overruled an independent curatorial panel’s unanimous selection of a work by artist Gabrielle Goliath. Goliath’s long-running performance work Energy addresses themes such as gender-based violence, and the War in Gaza. Thus, McKenzie's decision raised questions as to whether his actions were motivated by censorship and political interference.^[43]

• 21 January: Helen Zille confirmed that she would not stand for another term as the Chairperson of the Federal Council of the Democratic Alliance. Zille said she intends to focus on her campaign to become Joburg's next Mayor, stating that she feels her job is now to try and help fix local government, with functional metros benefitting South Africa as a whole.^[44]

• 22 January: South African artist Gabrielle Goliath decided to sue PA Leader and Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie, over his decision to withdraw her exhibit from the 61st Venice Biennale event. Goliath’s lawyers asked the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria to declare that McKenzie’s attempts to interfere with and obstruct the independent selection committee’s decision to select her work were unconstitutional, unlawful, and invalid. They further asked the court to set aside McKenzie’s decision to withdraw her artwork from the event, and bar him from taking any further steps to interfere with or obstruct her exhibit from being shown at the 61st Venice Biennale.^[45]

• 4 February: Democratic Alliance Leader and Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen announced that he would be stepping down from his role leading the DA, to focus exclusively on managing his portfolio at the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Steenhuisen remarked that he did not want his being at the forefront of the 2026 South African municipal elections to detract from his ministerial role, and so they were best done by two separate individuals. During his announcement, Steenhuisen celebrated major DA successes, including being a major part of the formation of the GNU, and the party entering ruling national government for the first time. Steenhuisen's decision was widely viewed as opening the door for highly popular Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis to run for the position of DA Leader. Hill-Lewis founded the DA Student Organization (DASO) while attending UCT, and served as Helen Zille's Chief of Staff, before becoming Mayor of Cape Town in 2021. Cape Town has, for numerous years, been widely regarded as South Africa's best-run metro, with clean audits, good governance, the highest number of affordable housing units developed, and sustainable infrastructure development among the City of Cape Town's successes.^[2]

• 7 February: Calls for the removal of Patriotic Alliance Leader and Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie grew, with various sports organizations, cultural groups, indigenous groups, and activists raising concerns about his controversial statements and decisions. Around the same time, McKenzie's latest controversial comments surrounded his public affirmation of his support for US President Donald Trump's stance on immigration, and forced removal actions through Federal Agency ICE. Analysts said the controversies collectively raised questions about McKenzie's ability to lead a department responsible for social cohesion, cultural diversity, heritage protection, arts, and sport development. At the time, Khayelitsha community activist Thulani Dasa commented that, "development is delivered through honest, capable, and accountable government".^[46][47]

• 16 February: Leader of ActionSA Herman Mashaba announced that he would compete for his party's nomination to run for Mayor of Johannesburg.^[48]

• 20 February: Democratic Alliance Federal Executive Leader Helen Zille campaigned in Johannesburg's Ward 102, for Bea Campbell-Cloete, who was hoping to become the ward's new councilor. Ward 102 comprises the suburbs of Bryanston, Hurlingham, Blairgowrie, Bordeaux, and Randburg CBD. Should Campbell-Cloete become the ward's next councilor, her proportional representation (PR) councilor seat would become vacant. This would allow Zille to fill that seat, and join the Johannesburg City Council, which Zille plans to do, should the opportunity arise. Despite Ward 102 traditionally being a DA stronghold, the party said it was leaving nothing to chance, and was campaigning heavily regardless.^[49]

• 21 February: ActionSA announced that its leader, Herman Mashaba would be its candidate for Mayor of Johannesburg, after emerging as the preferred candidate from a shortlist of five.^[50]

• 23 February: The Msunduzi Local Municipality announced during a media briefing that municipal employees affiliated with the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) had been linked to alleged sabotage of the municipality's water infrastructure. It was noted that the water supply to government institutions had been interfered with, and resulted in a water outage. The municipality said the interference was politically-motivated, and confirmed it had launched an investigation into the matter.^[51]

• 26 February: A former ActionSA Johannesburg PR councilor left the party to join the Democratic Alliance. Mandla Nyaqela accused ActionSA Leader Herman Mashaba of being a dictator, saying no choice or autonomy was given to the party members, and that everyone had to vote according to what Mashaba wanted. He cited an example of an upcoming Johannesburg council meeting to elect a Deputy Mayor, where he said all ActionSA councilors were told to vote according to Mashaba's decision, and he further claimed the party was a cult. Around 50 other ActionSA members left the party and joined the DA at the same time. The members were mostly from Soweto, and were formerly at five ActionSA branches, including Dobsonville, Zondi, Jabulani, Braamfischerville, and Mofolo. DA FedEx Chair and Joburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille welcomed the new party members at a meeting in Dobsonville, Soweto on 26 February 2026, where she stated that several more ActionSA members were expected to join the DA.^[52][53]

• 27 February: Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announced he would run for the position of Leader of the Democratic Alliance. Launching his campaign in Elsie's River, he said that he has a deep love for South Africa, and wants to make the country work. His candidacy for the role was nominated by fellow DA member and Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube, who said she did so with conviction, and believes in a new generation of leaders. At the announcement, senior party members highlighted the DA's significant continued successes with governance and service delivery in Cape Town.^[54]

• 27 February: The Democratic Alliance's (DA) Gauteng Legislature Leader Solly Msimanga confirmed he had accepted a nomination to run for the position of DA Federal Chairperson. At his announcement in Pretoria, Msimanga, who has led the party in the Gauteng Legislature since 2023, said he was humbled by the nomination, stating he was accepting it not for title or prestige, but for purpose. He committed to working to increase the number of DA Mayors outside the Western Cape.^[55]

• 28 February: It was reported that South Africans had given the Democratic Alliance the majority of the political donations declared for the period September to December 2025. Of the total campaign funding given to the five political parties that declared donations for that period, South African donors gave over 89% to the DA.^[56]

• 1 March: The Democratic Alliance stated that, based on past voter turnout data, if 490,000 registered DA voters turn up in Johannesburg in the municipal elections and vote for the DA on both ballots, the party would secure an outright majority in the Joburg Metropolitan Municipality.^[57]

• 3 March: More announcements were made in terms of those running for top positions in the DA's Federal Executive. The party's National Assembly House Chair Werner Horn and Deputy Finance Minister Ashor Sarupen launched campaigns for the role of Federal Council Chair.^[58]

• 9 March: The Electoral Commission commenced with a nationwide push for online voter registration. The Commission encouraged all eligible citizens to use its IEC self-service portal to register, update their details, and check their voter status online, ahead of election day. Furthermore, the Commission also started increasing its registration drives and civic education efforts at schools and universities.^[59]