The Electoral Commission of South Africa’s (IEC) national Results Operations Centre (ROC) in Midrand is abuzz with activity, as political parties closely monitor the first results from the 2026 Local Government Elections.
Party representatives have gathered at the centre as preliminary results started trickling in on Thursday, following Wednesday’s voting, with parties hoping for a strong showing in the contest for control of municipalities across the country.
The IEC registered approximately 29.2 million voters for the elections, with voting taking place at 23,696 voting stations. Special voting was conducted on Monday and Tuesday ahead of Election Day.
In a similar development, Defend Our Democracy (DOD) election observer Thandeka Sithole has expressed satisfaction with the overall conduct of the 2026 Local Government Elections (LGE).
Speaking to SAnews.gov.za following Wednesday’s Voting Day, Sithole described the voting process as professional, despite some challenges experienced at voting stations during peak hours.
Sithole said she was encouraged by the voter turnout announced by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), particularly given concerns that participation could fall below the 2021 LGE.
“I was really worried that the turnout might be lower than the 2021 turnout, given the past two or three voter registration weekends that I have been involved in. However, I was really happy with the overall voter turnout,” she told SAnews.gov.za on Thursday.
DOD is a South African civil society movement which also promotes an active citizenry.
Sithole said the election outcomes are particularly important as South Africa continues to navigate coalition politics, emphasising the need for broad representation and greater transparency in the formation of coalition governments.
She emphasised the importance of many voices being represented in municipal councils and political parties understanding how to manage coalition arrangements effectively.
“I am also expecting all coalition agreements to be published and accessible to the public, because no deals can be done in secret about us,” she said.
On youth participation, Sithole said she observed an encouraging number of young people queuing to vote at several voting stations she visited in the Midrand, Gauteng area.
Although she has not yet seen the IEC’s official statistics on youth participation, she said her observations were positive.
Regarding the administration of the elections, Sithole said she was generally satisfied with the process, but pointed to challenges linked to the Commission’s capacity and resources, with IEC officials at some voting stations having struggled to manage queues during the morning peak period, including inadequate queue marshals and difficulties processing voters at stations operating multiple voting substations.
“In some instances, officials took about an hour and a half to get operations settled, leaving community members who had been queuing since 6am frustrated.
“Overall, I am satisfied. The process was conducted in a professional way. However, we can still see the underfunding of the IEC within the process,” Sithole told SAnews.gov.za.
Sithole called for increased funding for the Commission, particularly to strengthen the training of electoral officials and improve the management of voting stations.
