South Africa votes in local government elections after more than 14 lakh special votes are cast

4 November 2026

South Africa is holding its local government elections. Voting on election day follows two days of special voting, on which 1,425,942 people cast their ballots. Of these, 974,852 voted at voting stations and 451,090 were visited at home. About 2.6 million voters had been approved for special voting, which is open to people who cannot reach a station on election day. The Electoral Commission of South Africa, chaired by Mosotho Moepya, runs the poll. Local government elections choose councillors for metropolitan, district and local municipalities, and South Africa holds them separately from its national and provincial elections. The previous municipal elections were held in 2021.