South Africa is preparing for its 2026 Local Government Elections, scheduled for 4 November, with a record number of political parties and candidates set to contest council seats across the country. President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared election day a public holiday.
According to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), 547 of the country’s 732 registered political parties will contest the elections, compared with 325 parties in the 2021 municipal polls. The figures point to a significant increase in political participation ahead of the November vote.
The IEC received 142,072 candidate nominations before the nomination deadline on 28 August 2026, representing an increase of approximately 43% from the 99,000 nominations received in 2021. Following its verification process, the Commission certified 136,790 candidates to contest 10,526 council seats across eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district municipalities and 205 local municipalities.
Of the certified candidates, 98,219 were nominated by political parties to contest ward seats, while 38,571 will contest proportional representation (PR) seats. A further 621 independent candidates have been certified to contest ward seats. The IEC disqualified 5,096 candidates during its verification process.
The scale of the contest is particularly evident in the metropolitan municipalities, where voters will face crowded proportional representation ballots. According to the IEC’s final figures, Johannesburg has 75 parties contesting PR seats, followed by Tshwane with 70, eThekwini with 69, Ekurhuleni with 67 and Cape Town with 55. The large number of parties means that double-column ballot papers will be required in these municipalities.
Political analyst Professor André Duvenhage told The Informer that the growing number of parties reflects increasing divisions within South African society.
While he acknowledged that allowing more parties to contest elections is a positive aspect of democracy, he warned that an overcrowded ballot could make it difficult for voters to distinguish between political parties, particularly those using similar colours.
“Many young people say they will not vote, so having more parties on the ballot does not guarantee higher voter turnout. People believe that their vote is not going to make a difference,” Duvenhage said.
His concerns come against the background of declining voter participation in previous elections. In 2021, voter turnout fell to approximately 46%, the lowest recorded in a South African local government election since 1994. The elections also resulted in 66 hung councils, where no political party secured an outright majority.
The 2024 national and provincial elections further demonstrated the fragmentation of South Africa’s political landscape. A total of 52 parties contested the national ballot, with 18 securing representation in the National Assembly.
Duvenhage warned that the growing number of parties could again make coalition governance a major feature of local government after the November elections. The experience of hung councils since 2021 has highlighted the difficulties of maintaining stable political leadership and securing agreement on municipal decisions.
Beyond the political implications, the large number of contestants presents a logistical challenge for the IEC, which must ensure that ballot papers are accurately prepared, voting stations are adequately equipped and votes are counted transparently.
The Commission has scheduled special voting for 2 and 3 November 2026 for eligible voters who qualify to cast their ballots before election day. Its voter participation campaign carries the message: “Get Up, Show Up, Vote.”
With the election approaching, the challenge will be to ensure that the increased number of political choices translates into meaningful public participation rather than further voter disengagement.
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