By Lebone Rodah Mosima
Eight unresolved court cases could affect the finalisation of ballot papers in parts of South Africa ahead of the 4 November local government elections, although the Electoral Commission is pressing ahead with printing 78 million ballots.
The cases include five before the Electoral Court, two before the Constitutional Court and one in the Gauteng High Court, according to an election-readiness report considered by the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Local Government Elections.
“All the eight unresolved matters have implications for the finalization of the ballot paper in the affected areas,” the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Local Government Elections said on Friday.
Despite the outstanding cases, the IEC remained on course with printing the 78 million ballot papers needed for the elections.
The legal challenges were among several potential risks considered when Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa convened the latest fortnightly meeting of the IMC on Friday.
The committee also received briefings on a developing El Niño weather event, election security, disaster-management preparations, special voting, voter documentation and election technology.
It said preparations for the elections remained on track.
“With just four weeks remaining before the local government elections, the IMC emphasised the need for all government departments, stakeholders, role-players and communities to intensify collaboration and collective efforts to deliver on the democratic promise of free and fair elections,” CoGTA said.
“The fortnightly meeting reaffirmed the IMC’s responsibility to lead and coordinate election preparations and support the delivery of elections as scheduled.”
El Niño adds election-day risk
The committee was warned that developing El Niño conditions could have implications for voters as well as election-day logistics and operations.
The South African Weather Service told the committee that the elections would take place during the early part of the country’s summer rainfall season against the backdrop of a developing El Niño event.
The weather pattern is associated with an increased likelihood of below-normal rainfall and above-normal temperatures across significant parts of southern Africa.
The government identified potential risks including below-normal seasonal rainfall, heatwaves, pressure on water supplies and municipal water systems, impacts on agriculture and food security, heat and water-related health risks, veld fires and increased pressure on disaster-management and emergency-response systems.
However, officials cautioned that El Niño does not mean rainfall will disappear.
South Africa was already experiencing spring rainfall in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, North West and Limpopo, while localised heavy rain and severe weather could still occur during a generally drier seasonal pattern.
“The occurrence of rainfall during an El Niño season should not be interpreted as contradicting the seasonal outlook,” CoGTA said.
“El Niño does not eliminate rainfall; rather, it changes the probability and distribution of rainfall over the season.”
The National Disaster Management Centre said it would use seasonal and shorter-range SAWS forecasts to guide disaster-risk measures for voting operations.
It is working with the IEC, government departments, municipalities, emergency and disaster-management structures, the security and health sectors, water authorities, agricultural organisations and civil society to prepare for possible disruptions.
The committee said increasingly accurate forecasts would become available as election day approached.
IEC presses ahead with election preparations
The IEC has certified 136,790 candidates to contest 10,526 council seats across South Africa’s eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district municipalities and 205 local municipalities.
Of those certified, 98,219 are party candidates contesting wards and 38,571 are proportional representation candidates. A further 621 independent candidates have been certified to contest ward seats.
Women account for 38% of certified candidates, while men account for 62%, according to the IEC.
Applications for special votes opened on 21 September and close at 17:00 on 12 October.
Successful applicants who cannot vote on election day will be able to cast special votes on 2 and 3 November, either through an approved home visit or at their registered voting station, depending on the category for which they qualify.
The government said about 68,000 Voter Management Devices would be deployed at voting stations and were undergoing testing ahead of election day.
All election materials other than ballot papers were already on hand, while local storage facilities had been prepared and screened by security structures, according to the IMC report.
Seventy-two organisations had applied to become election observers, with the IEC beginning briefings for organisations that had been approved.
Security structures say plans are in place
The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure, or NatJoints, also briefed the committee on security preparations.
NatJoints said the necessary security measures and operational preparations were in place to support safe and orderly special voting and election-day operations.
The election preparations are taking place as government confronts concerns over gender-based violence and femicide and a series of mass shootings.
The IMC said the violence was deeply concerning but would not derail preparations for the elections.
“The challenges confronting the country will not detract from the ongoing preparations to ensure that the elections proceed in a peaceful, orderly and credible manner,” CoGTA said.
Home Affairs will also align its operating hours with those of the IEC and continue deploying mobile offices to help people obtain documents required to vote.
The department has urged people who have applied for identity documents to collect them ahead of election day.
Hlabisa called for calm and tolerance in the remaining weeks before the election and urged political parties, electoral stakeholders and communities to contribute to a peaceful electoral environment.
“Minister Hlabisa emphasised that the success of the elections rests on a collective effort involving government, electoral stakeholders, communities and citizens, hence the call for all potential voters to go out in numbers to cast their ballots on 4 November 2026,” CoGTA said.
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