IEC approves 2.6 million special votes ahead of South Africa’s local elections

The Electoral Commission

Johannesburg – The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has approved 2.6 million special vote applications ahead of the November 4 local government elections, more than doubling the number approved during the 2021 polls. 

The figure represents a 131% increase from the 1.1 million applications approved for the previous local government elections. 

IEC chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo announced the figures on Wednesday, saying most applications had been submitted online as the commission finalised arrangements for special voting. 

“Special voting is an important feature of the electoral scheme, which ensures equal opportunity for voters,” Mamabolo said. 

The application period opened on September 21 and closed at 5pm on October 12. Eligible voters can cast special votes ahead of election day either through a home visit or at their registered voting station. 

The IEC approved 678,000 applications for home visits, up 33% from the 507,000 approved in 2021. 

These visits are intended for voters who cannot travel to their voting stations because of physical infirmity or disability. KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest number of approved home visit applications, at 137,000. 

A further 1.9 million applications were approved for special voting at voting stations, a 227% increase from the 602,000 recorded during the previous local government elections. 

“These are for voters who can physically present at their voting stations but are unable to do so on election day. There may be a variety of reasons for that,” Mamabolo said. 

Gauteng recorded the highest number of approved voting station-based applications, at 391,000. 

The IEC said it had received about 2.4 million applications through its online platforms, while 154,000 manually submitted applications had been captured through its network of offices. The commission was aiming to complete the capturing of manual applications by October 16. 

The IEC’s demographic analysis showed that women accounted for 74% of home visit applications and 64% of voting station-based applications. 

Voters aged 60 and older made up just under 80% of home visit applications, with those aged between 70 and 79 forming the largest group. 

Mamabolo said the figures showed that home visits were predominantly used by older voters, particularly women. Applications for voting station-based special votes reflected a younger and more gender-balanced group. 

The commission’s preliminary provincial breakdown placed Gauteng at the top with 480,000 approved special vote applications, followed by the Eastern Cape with 401,000, KwaZulu-Natal with 348,000, Limpopo with 341,000, the Western Cape with 291,000 and Mpumalanga with 232,000. 

The IEC cautioned that the figures reflected applications captured at the time of the briefing, with the processing of manual submissions still under way. 

Special voting will take place on November 2 and 3, two days before the local government elections on November 4. 

The IEC has urged voters to confirm their registration details and voting stations before election day. For the 2026 elections, voters may only cast their ballots at the station where they are registered. 

Voters can check their details by calling the IEC’s toll-free contact centre on 0800 11 8000, sending their identity number via WhatsApp to 0600 888 000, or sending it by SMS to 32810 at a cost of R1 per message. 

The commission said voters would receive the name of their registered voting station and their sequence number on the voters’ roll. 

“Providing this sequence number to election officials on election day will help them locate voters on the voters’ roll more quickly,” Mamabolo said. 

The IEC also reported progress on its broader election preparations. More than 66% of the 79 million ballot papers required had been printed, with production expected to be completed by October 18. 

All 23,696 voting stations had been secured, while arrangements for temporary infrastructure at 1,005 stations and support for 33 mobile voting stations were being finalised. 

The commission is also preparing to sign a co-operation framework with Meta, Google, TikTok and Microsoft on October 20 to help address disinformation during the election period. 

Mamabolo said the commission was not considering changing the election date despite a Constitutional Court challenge involving candidates whose details were captured on the IEC system but not finally submitted. 

“At this stage the Commission is not contemplating any change in dates or something of that sort,” he said. 

“We’re working on the fourth and we will work with whatever decision the court makes.” 

The local government elections are scheduled for November 4, with the IEC continuing its preparations while awaiting the outcome of the legal challenge. 

Picture: X/@IECSouthAfrica

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Compiled by Glaan Sibuyi

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