By Levy Masiteng
Voting stations across the Eastern Cape opened their doors to thousands of residents on Wednesday as voters turned out to elect new municipal leadership, with service delivery, infrastructure challenges and political accountability emerging as key concerns.
In Nelson Mandela Bay, which includes Gqeberha, Kariega and Despatch, voting got under way at 07:00, with varying levels of activity reported across polling stations.
Some stations experienced long queues shortly after opening, while others saw residents trickling in to cast their ballots.
According to the Daily Maverick, more than 300 people were already queuing outside Cape Recife School in Gqeberha at 07:00. Queues were also reported at the Portuguese Club in Summerstrand, while voting at the NG Kerk in Summerstrand was completed relatively quickly.
At Mngcunube Primary School in Ward 46, KwaNobuhle, voters arrived gradually, with residents raising concerns about illegal dumping, vandalised high-mast lights and the deteriorating condition of public spaces in their neighbourhoods.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) said preliminary figures indicated that approximately 1.4 million voters in the Eastern Cape had cast their ballots by 17:00 on Wednesday.
Earlier, IEC Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Masego Sheburi reported that several voting stations in the province had opened later than the scheduled 07:00 start because of localised protests and weather-related access challenges.
He confirmed that all voting stations were operational by 09:00.
The Eastern Cape’s special-voting period was also marred by controversy.
On Monday, an aspiring proportional representation councillor candidate was arrested following an alleged attempt to obtain ballot papers and other election material from an IEC storage centre at the Ngcobo police station.
According to the Daily Dispatch, the candidate and another suspect allegedly arrived at the storage centre at about 04:00 and demanded election material for two voting stations in the area.
The candidate was subsequently disqualified from contesting the elections.
In a separate incident, an IEC presiding officer in Mdantsane was removed from her duties following allegations that she had transported political party agents during special-vote home visits.
The elections come at a critical time for Nelson Mandela Bay, which has experienced political instability, coalition changes and mounting pressure over municipal service delivery.
The metro is currently governed by an ANC-led multiparty coalition, with Babalwa Lobishe serving as executive mayor and Gary van Niekerk of the Northern Alliance as deputy mayor.
Political instability has been a defining feature of the municipality’s current council term.
Following the 2021 local government elections, the ANC and DA each secured 48 seats, leaving smaller parties with significant influence over the formation of governing coalitions.
The municipality subsequently experienced changes between ANC-led and DA-led administrations before an ANC-backed coalition took control in May 2023. Lobishe became executive mayor in October 2024.
Financial management and service delivery have also emerged as major concerns.
By the end of April 2026, the municipality had accumulated approximately R23.42 billion in outstanding consumer accounts, up from R18.59 billion in June 2025.
Outstanding water accounts accounted for approximately R11.85 billion of the debt.
The metro also faced challenges relating to water security, electricity finances, ageing infrastructure, water losses and the maintenance of its road networks.
INSIDE METROS
