South Africans are will be heading to the polls for the 2026 Local Government Elections on Wednesday the 4th of November.
It follows two days of special votes nationwide on Monday and Tuesday, where 1.4 million people had cast their votes.
The poll stations will open from 07h00 until 21h00.
What is Local Government Elections?
While national elections shape our presidency, parliament, and overall country laws — local government elections are about what happens right on your doorstep.
Every five years, South Africans choose leaders for their metro, district, or local councils.
These municipal officials are directly responsible for the daily services that impact your life— like clean water, electricity, bin collection, local roads, and community parks.
Essentially, national government deals with the big picture, but local government is where service delivery actually happens.
Explaining the Ballots and Proportional Representation.
The Electoral Commission uses a color-coded system for the elections.
On the white ballot paper, you will vote for an individual ward councillor to represent your specific neighborhood.
You will also receive a yellow ballot, known as the Proportional Representation – or PR.
PR means the total number of seats a party gets in the council, and is directly decided by the total percentage of votes they receive across the municipality.
So, if a party gets 30 percent of the PR votes, they get roughly 30 percent of those council seats.
Lastly, if you live outside a metro, you’ll get a third, green ballot to vote for your broader district council.
Just look for the distinct colors to ensure your voice counts in every layer of local governance.
What should I bring and where must I vote?
Remember, in local elections, you must vote at the specific station where you are registered.
When you head out, you must bring the following:
- Green bar-coded ID book
- New smartcard ID
- or a valid Temporary ID Certificate.
Passports or driver’s licenses will not be accepted.
Once inside, officials will verify your registration, ink your thumbnail, stamp your ballots, and guide you to the booth.
The Department of Home Affairs will extend operational hours at all its front offices to ensure that eligible voters have access to their identity documents required to participate in the elections.
The department says its officers will open from 08h00 until 18h00 to enable citizens to collect completed identity documents, apply for identity documents or obtain Temporary Identity Certificates (TICs) where applicable.