South Africa is officially in the final stretch towards the 2026 Local
Government Elections, with just 21 days to go before voters head to
the polls on the 4th of November. The Electoral Commission says
preparations are gathering pace, with more than 66 percent of the
country's 79 million ballot papers already printed, thousands of
electoral officials recruited, and infrastructure being put in place at
nearly 24,000 voting stations.
But one of the most striking figures in the IEC's latest update is the

number of approved special vote applications. More than 2.65
million applications have been approved — an increase of 131
percent compared with the 2021 local government elections. What is
driving this dramatic increase, and does the Commission have the
capacity to accommodate every eligible voter who has been
approved for a special vote?
The IEC is also preparing its election results system, working with
political parties to test its integrity and reliability, and stepping up
efforts to combat disinformation. So, as the countdown begins, how
ready is the Commission, what safeguards are in place to protect the
credibility of the results, and what must voters do to ensure they are
able to cast their ballots? We speak to a representative of the
Electoral Commission.