Countdown begins: IEC launches preparations for 2026 Local Government Elections

By Thebe Mabanga

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has begun preparations for the 2026 Local Government Elections (LGE), with the number of councilors for each of three categories of municipalities already determined, and ward boundaries currently being finalised by the Municipal Demarcation Board to determine the number of wards and the commission set to take over the process in the last quarter of this year.  

At the last elections, there were 4600 wards in South Africa while the next Local Government Elections are expected to be held between November 2026 and January 2027.

Chief Electoral Officer, Sy Mamabolo, speaking at a press briefing held at Election House, Riverside Office Park, Centurion, on Wednesday, said the IEC has aggressively reached out to recruit more voters, especially young voters.

Mamabolo said during the current financial year, the IEC plans to distribute approximately R335 million, or R84 million per quarter, to parties represented in the National Assembly and provincial legislatures.

There are no independent candidates in South Africa’s legislatures.

Mamabolo said the IEC has begun preparations for the next Local Government Elections, guided in part by the five-year term of office, which for the current cohort expires next year.

Elections must be held within three months of the expiry of the term, and the last Local Government Elections took place in early November 2021.

Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Velenkosi Hlabisa is responsible for setting the election date, and Mamabolo confirmed that consultations in this regard have already begun.

In March this year, the Commission began a process to formally explore the process of introducing electronic voting in South Africa, through a E-Voting Conference held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) in Cape Town, Western Cape.

The commission has now released a discussion document on the subject entitled,