Local government elections 2026: a guide to ballots, wards and candidates - Daily Maverick

The countdown to the 2026 local government elections is on. Still unsure about how voting works, who is contesting your ward or what will be on your ballot? This guide has you covered.

Find out who’s running in your ward, how to find your ward, what will be on your ballot and what you need to know before you vote in the 2026 local government elections. Want to know who is running to lead each metro? You’ll find that here too.

South Africans will go to the polls in the local government elections on Wednesday, 4 November 2026. It is declared a public holiday, and voting stations will open from 7am to 9pm. 

South Africa has three spheres of government. 

National government makes laws and sets policy for the whole country. 

Provinces run services such as schools, hospitals and clinics. 

Local government runs your municipality and delivers local services, which can include water and sanitation, electricity, local roads and waste collection. Who provides what depends on where you live: some households buy electricity directly from Eskom, and outside the metros water is often run by the district municipality.

In the local government elections, you’re choosing who will run your municipality for the next five years. 

You need to vote at the voting station serving the voting district in which you are registered to vote. You can find your voting station here. You can check your voter registration status here. You can also SMS your ID number to 32810. All SMSes are charged at R1. Contact the call centre at 0800 11 8000.

You can only vote in person at the voting station where you are registered. Unlike national elections, municipal elections require physical residency within a local ward. You may, however, apply for a special vote if you are in another place on voting day.

According to the Electoral Commission of SA’s (IEC’s) criteria, people who are infirm, disabled or pregnant can request a home visit. Those who simply cannot make it to their voting station on election day vote at their station on the special voting days.

Special voting usually takes place on two predetermined days before election day at your designated voting station. Monday, 2 November 2026, and Tuesday, 3 November 2026 (from 8am to 5pm).

Applications for special votes are now open and will close on Monday 12 October at 5pm. Applications can be submitted online here or by SMSing your ID number to 32249 (R1 per SMS).

If you live in a metro, you will get two ballots. One for a ward councillor to represent your area and one for a party, which fills the rest of the council’s seats. If you live outside a metro, you may also get a third ballot for your district council.

Once the new council is elected, councillors vote for a mayor and a speaker. If no party has a majority, parties must form a coalition to elect them.

Ward councillor: You vote for a person to represent your ward on local issues. Candidates can belong to a party or stand as independents.

PR (proportional representation) councillor: You vote for a party, not a person. PR councillors don’t represent a specific area. Parties fill these seats from their lists, and seats are shared out so that each party’s total number of councillors roughly reflects its share of the vote.

District council (outside metros only): A second party ballot, this time for your district municipality, which runs some services across several local municipalities.

To find your ward, check where you are registered to vote on the IEC website using your ID number. This will show your ward and voting station for election day.

You can also use the IEC’s Voting Station Finder. Type in your address and your voting station details will pop up along with your ward number.

If the ward shown for your address is different from the one where you are registered, you must vote at your registered voting station. The voters’ roll closed on 7 August 2026.

To find your current ward councillor, use the IEC’s Who Is My Ward Councillor tool here. Enter your ID number and it will show your councillor and their contact details. SMS your ID number to 32245. Each SMS costs R1.

The councillor you find now was elected in 2021 and serves until the new council is sworn in after the November elections.

You can also use this ward councillor tool here. Enter your ward number to find your current councillor and their contact details.

A ward councillor serves as a vital bridge in service delivery between the municipal council and the local community.

According to Professor Jaap de Visser, South African Research Chair in Multilevel Government, Law and Development at the Dullah Omar Institute at the University of the Western Cape, voters should look beyond political ideologies and assess whether individual councillors delivered on their promises, met service delivery demands and didn’t steal from the public purse.

De Visser made the comments in a 2021 Daily Maverick interview, when he was director of the institute.

In this election, you’re voting for councillors. Once elected, the councillors choose a mayor to lead the municipality.

The ANC has yet to confirm its candidate. Here are the ANC’s possible metro mayoral candidates.

The ANC has yet to confirm its candidate. Here are the ANC’s possible metro mayoral candidates.

The ANC has yet to confirm its candidate. The ANC’s list of potential candidates includes incumbent mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza, Ekurhuleni’s finance and strategy member of the mayoral committee Jongizizwe Dlabathi, Ekurhuleni council whip Pelisa Nkunjana and Ntombi Mekgwe.

The ANC has yet to confirm its candidate. Here are the ANC’s possible metro mayoral candidates.

MK Party: Zuma swapped the MK Party’s eThekwini mayoral candidate on 10 September, replacing Zandile Hlophe-Mkhwanazi with Apostle Mxolisi Phakathi.

The ANC has yet to confirm its candidate. Here are the ANC’s possible metro mayoral candidates.

The ANC has yet to confirm its candidate. Here are the ANC’s possible metro mayoral candidates.

The ANC will not appear on Mangaung's party ballot after an Electoral Court ruling, which limits its chances of electing a mayor.

The ANC has yet to confirm its candidate.  The ANC has offered incumbent mayor Princess Faku, former deputy minister Nocawe Mafu, Simphiwe Dzengwa and Ncedo Kumbaca as its potential candidates.

DA: The DA has announced ward candidates, but it has not selected a mayoral candidate.

If you have any additional questions or topics you’d like us to cover, you can share them below and make sure you’re subscribed to the Democracy newsletter here. DM