Polls open at 7am: 29 million voters, and the 45.86% who stayed home last time

South Africa’s seventh local government elections are on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, and voting stations open at 7am. More than 29 million voters are on the voters’ roll. In 2021, 45.86% of them turned out.

The ballot decides who sits on metropolitan, district and local councils, and who serves as ward councillor. According to the Electoral Commission, that is the layer of government that decides on water, sanitation, electricity, roads, refuse removal and local development.

“Local government elections are extremely important because they directly affect our lives and everyday wellbeing,” Kate Tissington, a senior researcher at the Public Affairs Research Institute, told SAnews.gov.za. PARI is a non-profit African research institute affiliated to the University of Johannesburg and Wits University, and researches state capacity, public governance and accountability.

Tissington said citizens are frustrated by the poor record of service delivery, and argued that the question for voters is whether parties are being straight about it. “Voters should consider whether parties are being honest about past failures and are talking coherently about how they will do things differently. Parties and councillor candidates need to be engaging in the details of the ‘how’ of improving municipalities,” she said.

On coalitions, she said a vote is not an endorsement of an entire manifesto. “Every vote does count, as cliché as that sounds, particularly in this era of coalition politics. You do not need to agree with everything that a party stands for to vote for it. This is in fact rarely the case,” she told SAnews. “You can vote for different parties and candidates if this makes sense to you, and splitting your vote between parties is a democratic right.”

Section 19 of the Constitution’s Bill of Rights guarantees every citizen the right to free, fair and regular elections, and the Constitution assigns the Electoral Commission responsibility for managing elections and ensuring they are free and fair.

The commission’s own argument to voters is blunt. Voting, it says on its website, gives people a say in decisions that affect “your life and the future of our country”, and those who do not vote leave those decisions to those who do. “Voting is your chance to stand up for the issues you care about. This is your life: take the time to help decide what’s best. Voting - rather than just venting on social media or protesting, is the best way to make your voice heard and make a positive input on the issues that concern you,” the commission said. It also warned against deferring: “If you’re thinking that right now you’ve got better things to do with your time and you’ll vote next time, think again! Five years is a long time to be stuck with something that you don’t want or doesn’t work.”

The South African Local Government Association has urged every registered voter to prioritise the election and to choose ethical, capable and accountable leaders. In a report to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Local Government Elections, the Electoral Commission said it is preparing for a 100% turnout, and the committee called on all stakeholders to mobilise registered voters to the stations.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the 4 November date in April, at an Extended Presidential Coordinating Council meeting in Ekurhuleni, and said raising turnout, especially among young people, was the task. “Voter turnout is always a concern to political parties and indeed to the State or the government because the fewer people that vote, the more we get concerned about the status of our democracy,” he said at the time. “Our task is to increase voter turnout, to get as many people as possible, especially young people, to come out, register and vote.”

On the job itself, Tissington set out what a ward councillor is for. The role is to consult communities on their needs and priorities and to carry those concerns into council. “Some of the qualities we should be looking for in a ward councillor include someone who will do the job honestly, transparently, and in the best interests of the community. We want councillors who will attend meetings, be responsive, and communicate well with communities. They must support their ward committees and regularly report to their communities on the municipality’s performance,” she said.

Ward councillors chair their ward committees, which the researcher described as the bridge between communities and municipalities, and they are expected to tell residents what council has decided and to monitor municipal performance. “This means that ward councillors must be accessible and responsive, involving the community in the council’s planning and decision-making processes and using their vote and voice in the council to advance the interests of their constituency,” she said.

Special voting was under way on Tuesday, the first of its two days. Registered voters who have not yet voted can do so at their stations from 7am on Wednesday.

This account is drawn from the SAnews (South African Government News Agency) feature published on 3 November 2026, which reports the Electoral Commission’s public statements, the SALGA call and the President’s April remarks rather than the underlying documents. The source is at https://www.sanews.gov.za/features-south-africa/why-every-vote-matters-local-government-elections