IEC clears 136 790 candidates for the 4 November local government elections

A record 136 790 candidates have met the statutory requirements to contest South Africa’s local government elections on 4 November 2026, the Electoral Commission announced on Wednesday.

The certified field is far larger than the 95 427 candidates who qualified for the 2021 municipal elections, even though the number of seats on offer has barely moved. Councillors will contest 10 526 seats this year, against 10 478 in 2021.

“Out of these 136 790 candidates, 98 219 are nominated by parties to represent wards and 38 571 to represent parties in the Proportional Representation (PR) election. A total of 621 candidates are independents nominated to represent wards,” the commission’s Chief Electoral Officer, Sy Mamabolo, told a media briefing in Pretoria.

The contests run across the country’s eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district municipalities and 205 local municipalities.

How the nominations were filed

Nominations closed at 5pm on 28 August 2026. Candidates could hand in their documents at Electoral Commission offices or use the Online Candidate Nomination Portal, and the online route carried most of the load. Mamabolo said 84% of nominations came in online and 16% were submitted manually.

The commission then worked through its statutory reviews. On 4 September it issued notices to 221 parties and independent candidates covering 1 280 nominated candidates, who were given until 7 September to supply identification documents and completed acceptance-of-nomination forms.

A second round of notices went out on 9 September to parties and independent candidates in relation to 550 candidates who had either been nominated as independents and again by a party, or who had been nominated by more than one party.

At the end of those reviews, 5 096 candidates were disqualified. The commission confirmed that all remaining contestants had paid the applicable deposits and were properly nominated.

What the field means for voters

The scale of the field is the story of this election’s paperwork. With 10 526 seats available and 136 790 candidates certified, the average contest is crowded, and the gap between the 2021 and 2026 figures is not explained by the number of seats.

For voters, the practical effect is a longer ballot in many municipalities and a wider choice of names, including 621 ward independents who will stand without a party behind them. For the commission, it is a verification load that ran through August and into September, with two rounds of notices to parties and candidates before the list was settled.

The commission said it would publish the list of all candidates and political parties contesting the 4 November elections later on Wednesday. That list is the document voters will use to check who is on their ballot.

Source: SAnews (South African Government News Agency), IEC announces 136 790 candidates cleared to contest local government elections, https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/iec-announces-136-790-candidates-cleared-contest-local-government-elections