THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION OF SOUTH AFRICA HAS REGISTERED 29 MILLION VOTERS AHEAD OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS SCHEDULED FOR 4 NOVEMBER, BUT THE HARDER ACCOUNTABILITY WORK BEGINS NOW.
The IEC recorded nearly 4.7 million interactions across two registration weekends in June and August, adding 754,332 new voters to the roll. The final weekend alone saw roughly 1.7 million people register, check, or update their details. Registration, however, does not equip citizens to cast informed ballots. Evaluating candidates and party records is the task that remains.
Additional reference context is available at https://explain.co.za/2026/08/09/you-registered-to-vote-heres-what-to-do-next/.
The first practical step is verification. Voters can confirm their registration status and voting station on the IEC’s website, call 0800 11 8000, or SMS their ID number to 32810 for R1. In local elections, voters must cast ballots at the station where they are registered. Being assigned to the wrong ward could mean voting for representatives who do not serve the community where a person actually lives.
Vincent Maake, head of communications at Ground Work Collective, recommends that voters begin by identifying the three biggest problems affecting their daily lives. “When you have identified those priorities, you can assess which political parties have credible, practical, and realistic plans to address them,” Maake told Explain. That requires understanding which sphere of government bears responsibility for different issues. Municipalities control household water, sanitation, refuse removal, storm-water systems, local roads, and in many areas electricity distribution and street lighting. National policing policy, Eskom’s electricity generation, and overall unemployment rates fall outside municipal jurisdiction. A ward councillor cannot unilaterally create thousands of jobs, but a municipality can simplify business permits, support local procurement, repair infrastructure, and fund training. Voters should demand specifics, not slogans.
The ballot structure itself varies by municipality type. Voters in metropolitan municipalities receive two ballots: one for a ward candidate and another for a party’s proportional-representation list. Those in local municipalities receive three ballots, covering the ward, the local council’s proportional-representation seat, and the district council. Voters are therefore choosing both individual representatives and the overall political composition of municipal councils.
Maake emphasizes that the campaign period offers a rare window to question both sitting ward councillors and candidates seeking to replace them. Residents should ask what promises were made in the previous election, which were completed, and which were abandoned. They should press candidates on what they will prioritize in their first year, which municipal department and budget will fund it, how often they will meet residents, and how constituents can reach them when municipal officials do not respond. Vague pledges to “improve service delivery” should be rejected in favor of specific commitments tied to timelines and funding sources.
Party records matter as much as manifestos. Voters should examine whether municipalities governed by a party received clean audits, whether debt to Eskom or water boards increased, whether infrastructure budgets were spent, and whether council meetings were repeatedly disrupted. Coalition arrangements deserve particular scrutiny. Smaller parties can determine who becomes mayor even when winning relatively few votes, and voters should ask parties which principles they would protect in a coalition and what would trigger withdrawal.
Meanwhile, individual voters are already adapting their approach. Germiston resident and small-business owner Sharon Maupa Madiete says she previously voted based largely on what others said but now plans to read party manifestos and focus on proposals affecting small businesses, electricity, safety, and youth employment. Crime affects her catering business directly, yet she has never spoken to her ward councillor. She plans to change that, recognizing that residents cannot simply complain without engaging the person supposed to represent them. For Madiete, proof that her vote mattered would be visible improvement in service delivery within six months to a year, not another set of promises that disappear until the next election.
Voter engagement extends beyond election day. Ward committees exist to connect residents, ward councillors, and municipalities, raising community concerns and participating in municipal planning, budgeting, and performance-monitoring processes. Residents can also participate in consultations on the municipality’s Integrated Development Plan, which sets out priorities, projects, and intended spending. Keeping complaint reference numbers, attending ward meetings where possible, requesting written progress reports, and verifying whether promised projects appear in municipal plans and budgets are all practical tools for ongoing accountability.
Turnout patterns suggest that registration does not guarantee participation. The 2024 national elections drew 58.64% of registered voters; the 2021 local elections recorded an even lower turnout of 45.86%. An Ipsos survey conducted between December 2025 and January 2026 found that 47% of South Africans believed no political party represented their views, and 38% had no interest in politics or elections. Yet 64% said they wanted to vote in the upcoming local elections. People can be deeply disappointed by political parties while still caring about water, roads, jobs, and neighborhood safety.
For detailed guidance on next steps after registration, voters can consult explain.co.za/2026/08/09/you-registered-to-vote-heres-what-to-do-next/
Before 4 November, voters should identify the problems they want their municipality to solve, learn what local government can realistically control, investigate ward candidates, and ask parties how they will pay for their promises. Voting chooses the councillor. What residents do in the months that follow determines whether that councillor actually delivers.