South Africans are heading to the polls tomorrow for the 2026 Local Government Elections. Advocate Sipho Mantula, a researcher at UNISA's Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs, says many citizens view elections as the end of their political participation, when in reality, they should be seen as the beginning.

 Mantula argues that communities must remain actively involved in monitoring local government, holding elected representatives accountable and ensuring that public resources are used to improve people's lives.

He warns that when the social contract is undermined by corruption, incompetence, patronage and neglect, democratic and state institutions become weakened, creating an environment where what he describes as tsotsistocracy takes hold. 

Lulu Gaboo spoke to Advocate Sipho Mantula, a researcher at the Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs at Unisa and a member of the Unisa Domestic Election Observer Mission.