IEC opens public comment on municipal election rule changes ahead of 4 November

The Electoral Commission of South Africa has proposed changes to the Municipal Electoral Regulations that would let any interested party lodge an objection about voting and counting by email, no later than 5pm on the second day after voting, instead of delivering it to the commission’s Pretoria office.

The amendments have been open for public comment since 18 August and are being processed ahead of the local government elections on 4 November. As IOL reported on 16 September, the proposals also cover the handling of disputed and special votes and move the accreditation of voter education providers online.

What the objection deadline changes

Under the current rules, a party agent or candidate can raise an alleged irregularity about voting, counting or the determination and declaration of results with the presiding officer or counting officer on election day. The presiding officer keeps a written record of each objection and the decision taken on it.

The proposed regulation adds a separate route for an objection that could materially affect the final election result. That objection would go to a designated email address by 5pm on the second day after voting. The requirement to lodge it at the commission’s Pretoria office falls away, which matters most to parties and independents outside Gauteng who currently have to move paper across the country inside a tight window.

The right of appeal is unchanged. A party aggrieved by a decision of the commission may still take the matter to the Electoral Court within three days.

Disputed votes and special votes

The notice sets out that where an objection to a vote is decided, disputed ballots will generally be opened and processed in front of party agents. If the objection is upheld, those ballots will not be counted. The commission’s stated intention for the special vote provisions is to make the handling and counting of those ballots more structured and consistent, covering verification of voters, marking of the voters’ roll, the handling of envelopes and ballot papers, and the transfer of special votes into the ordinary ballot box once voting closes.

Special votes are cast by voters who cannot reach a voting station on election day, including the elderly, the infirm and people working away from home. Their handling is one of the areas most closely watched by party agents because the ballots are cast before election day and stored before counting.

Voter education applications move online

Regulation 22 would allow an individual or organisation seeking accreditation to provide voter education to apply through the commission’s website. The current requirement is a prescribed form with supporting documents submitted physically at a commission office. The change widens the pool of organisations able to run voter education in the weeks before an election, when demand for it is highest.

The amended regulations come into operation on the date they are published in the Government Gazette.

The Bill moving through Parliament

The regulatory changes are running alongside the Electoral Laws Amendment Bill, introduced in Parliament by Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber. The Bill’s memorandum provides for the mandatory deregistration of parties not represented in Parliament, the legislatures and councils that fail to renew their registration annually. It also amends the composition of the Electoral Court, sets requirements for registration as a voter, limits objections to the provisionally compiled voters roll, and amends a provision on the eligibility of registered parties to contest elections.

On the court itself, the Bill inserts a provision that the Electoral Court would comprise the Judge President of the Electoral Court, who is a judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal, five judges of the High Court, and three other members who are South African citizens and not judges, appointed in consultation with the Minister of Justice.

For voters, the practical effect of the package is small until election day. The objection route, the handling of disputed ballots and the accreditation of the people who explain the process are the mechanics that decide whether a close result is settled by a count or by litigation. The commission has invited written comment on the draft regulations, and parties, independent candidates and voter education organisations have until the close of that process to put their views on the record.

Source: IOL, IEC seeks public comment on changes to 2026 municipal election regulations.