IEC reports encouraging voter turnout as 12 million cast their votes

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) says it is encouraged by the voter turnout at voting stations across the country, with more than 12 million people having cast their ballots by 17:00 on Wednesday, 4 November.

South Africans headed to the polls on Wednesday for the 2026 Local Government Elections, with voting stations open from 07:00 to 21:00.

IEC SAYS AROUND 12 MILLION VOTERS CAST THEIR BALLOTS

According to the IEC, preliminary figures indicated that approximately 12 million voters had cast their ballots by 17:00.

Gauteng recorded the highest number of voters at three million, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 2.5 million, Western Cape with 1.5 million, Eastern Cape with 1.4 million and Limpopo with 1.1 million.

Other provincial figures included Mpumalanga with 854 901 voters, North West with 702 1337, Free State with 588 237 and Northern Cape with 299 381.

HOW THE VOTES WILL BE COUNTED

The IEC said counting would begin at each voting station shortly after voting closes.

The counting process will take place in the presence of party agents, independent candidate agents and accredited observers.

According to the Commission, the process will include the following steps:

• Sealed ballot boxes will be opened, and ballot papers will be checked for the IEC’s security stamp.
• Ballot papers will be sorted and counted separately for each electoral contest, including the proportional representation (PR) ballot, ward candidate ballot and, where applicable, the district council PR ballot.
• The results for each contest will be reconciled against the ballot papers received, issued, unused, spoilt and counted at the voting station.
• Results slips will be completed in duplicate, signed by the presiding officer and countersigned by party agents. They will then be displayed at the voting station once counting and tallying have been completed.
• Party agents will be allowed to photograph the signed results slips.
• The results will subsequently be scanned and captured at the local IEC office before undergoing verification and independent external auditing.

The IEC said its Results Operations Centres would allow political parties, independent candidates, observers and the media to monitor the capturing, verification and processing of results.

This is intended to strengthen transparency and ensure the integrity of the electoral process.

“Once counting, capturing and verification have been completed and outstanding queries resolved, the Electoral Commission will declare the final results and announce the allocation of seats in municipal councils within the prescribed seven-day period,” the Commission said.