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Calendar · Local government elections · Wednesday, 4 November 2026

Declared within
seven days.

The Minister of Cooperative Governance proclaimed the date on 7 August 2026 and the voters' roll closed that midnight. 142 072 candidates from 227 parties and independents stood for 10 526 seats in 257 councils. The count is under way; the councils then meet to elect their Speakers and mayors.

Where things stand

From the queue
to the mayor's chair.

  1. 2 November–3 November Special votes

    Home visits and voting stations, 08:00–17:00, for voters who applied.

  2. 4 November Polling day

    Stations open 07:00–21:00; anyone in the queue at 21:00 still votes.

  3. from 21:00 Counting now

    Each voting station counts its own ballots, with party agents and observers present.

  4. by 11 November Declaration

    The IEC must declare within seven days of polling day; the Electoral Court can extend it.

  5. by about 25 November Councils sit

    Within 14 days of the declaration, called by the municipal manager.

  6. at or after the first sitting Speakers and mayors

    The council elects its Speaker at the first sitting, and an executive mayor within 14 days of the election.

Dates after polling day are the latest the law allows (Municipal Electoral Act s.64(2) with Electoral Commission Act s.5; Municipal Structures Act ss.29, 36, 55), not dates the IEC has announced. Sources differ on whether the 14 days run from the declaration or from its publication. Follow the count →

The timetable · General Notice 4086 of 2026, Government Gazette No. 55163 (7 August 2026)

Five months,
day by day.

June 2026

  1. 20–21 June 2026 First voter registration weekend (all voting stations open) Registration · source ↗

August 2026

  1. 1–2 August 2026 Second voter registration weekend Registration · source ↗
  2. 7 August 2026 CoGTA Minister Hlabisa proclaims 4 November 2026 (Gazette 55162); IEC timetable published (Gazette 55163); nominations open Proclamation · source ↗
  3. 7 August 2026 Voters' roll closes at midnight on proclamation day Roll and nominations · source ↗
  4. 10–17 August 2026 Provisional voters' roll open for inspection at IEC local offices Roll and nominations · source ↗
  5. 11–18 August 2026 Objections to the provisional voters' roll (Electoral Act s.15) Roll and nominations · source ↗
  6. 14 August 2026 Notice of voting station addresses and mobile station routes Roll and nominations · source ↗
  7. 24 August 2026 IEC finalises roll objections Roll and nominations · source ↗
  8. 26 August 2026 Chief Electoral Officer certifies the voters' roll Roll and nominations · source ↗
  9. 28 August 2026 Party lists, ward candidate nominations and deposits due (17:00) Roll and nominations · source ↗

September 2026

  1. 7 September 2026 Deadline for outstanding candidate ID copies and signed acceptances Roll and nominations · source ↗
  2. 16 September 2026 IEC certifies party lists, ward candidate lists and contesting parties Roll and nominations · source ↗
  3. 21 September–12 October 2026 Special vote applications (close 17:00, 12 October) Special votes · source ↗
  4. 25 September 2026 Candidate certificates issued Roll and nominations · source ↗

November 2026

  1. 2–3 November 2026 Special votes: home visits and voting stations (08:00–17:00) Special votes · source ↗
  2. 4 November 2026 Local Government Elections: 257 municipalities, 4,488 wards (polls 07:00–21:00) Polling day · source ↗
  3. 11 November 2026 Latest date for the IEC to declare results (7 days; extendable by the Electoral Court) statutory limit Results · source ↗
  4. 25 November 2026 First council sittings: within 14 days of declaration (latest if declared on 11 Nov) statutory limit Councils · source ↗

How a municipal election runs

Two ballots in a metro,
three elsewhere.

South Africa has 8 metropolitan municipalities, 205 local municipalities and 44 district municipalities, which share functions with the local municipalities inside them. Half of each metro and local council is elected in wards and half from party lists, so the council as a whole is proportional to the party vote.

  • Ward ballot

    Every voter in a metro or local municipality

    One councillor per ward, first past the post: party candidates and independents. 4 488 wards in 2026, 20 more than in 2021.

  • PR ballot

    Every voter in a metro or local municipality

    Parties only. The council's seats are shared in proportion to each party's ward and PR votes together; a party's ward wins are counted first and the list tops it up.

  • District council ballot

    Voters in the 205 local municipalities only

    Parties only. About 40% of a district council is elected this way; the local councils send the other 60% from among their councillors (Municipal Structures Act s.23).

Councils serve until the next council is declared elected, up to five years (Constitution s.159). A hung council — no party above half the seats — needs a coalition or an arrangement to elect its Speaker and mayor. What a voter is handed, and a practice ballot →

Between elections

By-elections

When a ward councillor's seat falls vacant, the municipal manager calls a by-election, which must be held within 90 days of the vacancy (Municipal Structures Act s.25). The province's MEC for local government can let it stand over if the next general municipal election is due within six months. A vacancy among list councillors is filled from the party's list, with no vote.

By-elections also follow if the IEC cannot declare a council's result in time, if a court sets an election aside, or if a council is dissolved. None is scheduled now: ward by-elections for the councils elected in 2026 will come as vacancies arise.

National and provincial elections · next

May 2029
to August 2029.

The National Assembly elected on 29 May 2024 has a five-year term (Constitution s.49(1)). When it expires the President proclaims an election, which must be held within 90 days (s.49(2)), so no later than about 26 August 2029. Provincial legislatures follow the same rule (s.108) and have voted on the same day since 1994.

The Assembly can dissolve itself after three years by a majority of its members, which would bring the election forward (s.50). Every general election since 2004 has been held in April or May. No date has been proclaimed.

Exit polls, results, polls and odds

What may be
published, when?

The law forbids publishing the result of an exit poll while voting stations are open (Electoral Act s.109; Municipal Electoral Act s.76). There is no blackout on opinion polls. This site holds back more than the law asks: pick a moment to see what it would show.

Wednesday, 4 November 2026, 20:30 SAST · polling day