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Election day Wed 4 Nov
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The facts, then you decide.

The Vote is a free guide to South Africa's 4 November 2026 local elections. No (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) pays us, and we never tell you who to vote for. Pick what you care about. See what each party promised on it, with a link to where it said so. Take the free quiz in about a minute.

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City of Cape Town. A court ruled that Cape Town's fixed water, sewer and cleaning charges were unlawful. It cancelled them from 30 June 2026.

Mayor: Geordin Hill-Lewis (DA).

VerifiedSource: Western Cape High Court

The (Council The group of elected people who make decisions for a municipality. They pass its budget and choose the mayor.) has 231 (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.). You vote for 116 (Ward councillor A person chosen by the voters of one ward to speak for that area on the council. You vote for them by name.) by name. The other 115 seats go to parties, to match their share of the votes.

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Table Mountain, Western Cape · Photo: Danie van der Merwe, CC BY 2.0

  • Every fact has a source you can check
  • Every party is checked the same way
  • We never tell you who to vote for
  • No party pays us
  • If we get it wrong, we fix it and say so
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What you're voting for on 4 November 2026

You get 2 or 3 (Ballot paper The paper you mark with an X to vote. You get 2 in a metro and 3 everywhere else.). On each one, you mark one X. Here is what each paper is for.

  1. Paper 1

    A person for your ward

    Vote for one person. They speak for your area on the (Council The group of elected people who make decisions for a municipality. They pass its budget and choose the mayor.).

  2. Paper 2

    A party for your council

    Vote for one (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.). This decides how many (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.) each party gets.

  3. Paper 3 · Not in the 8 metros

    A party for your district

    Vote for one party for your (District council A council over several local municipalities. It runs services for the whole area. There are 44. Voters outside the metros also vote for it.). It works across several (Local municipality A municipality for a town or rural area outside the metros. There are 205.) near you.

You vote for a council, not a mayor.

After the election, the new (Councillor A person elected to make decisions for a municipality, such as the budget and who the mayor is. Each one holds one seat.) choose the (Mayor The leader of the municipality. Councillors choose this person, not voters. So the seats each party wins decide who can lead.). So the seats you help each party win decide who can become mayor.

Never voted? How voting worksSee your ballot

What matters to you

Pick a topic. See what every (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) promised on it, side by side.

Safety and jobs

Core services

Housing and land

Governance and money

What matters to meOr pick a few in the free quiz, and see them all at once.

Promises, checked

We check what (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) say against official records and the news. Each claim gets one of four results, with the reason and the sources.

See all checked claims

Who runs your council now

To choose the (Mayor The leader of the municipality. Councillors choose this person, not voters. So the seats each party wins decide who can lead.) and pass the budget, a (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) needs more than half the (Council The group of elected people who make decisions for a municipality. They pass its budget and choose the mayor.) votes. If no party has that, parties must work together. So the parties that hold more than half the (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.) decide how your council spends its money.

Eastern CapeFree StateGautengKwaZulu-NatalLimpopoMpumalangaNorth WestNorthern CapeWestern Cape

Tap a province on the map to see its councils.

Council areas: geoBoundaries ZAF ADM3, CC BY 3.0 IGO

Buffalo City

A metro in the Eastern Cape

61 of 100 seats. That is more than half.

  • ANC 61
  • Other parties 39

In March 2023, the council chose Princess Faku (ANC) as mayor.

Open this council

Seats from the IEC, mayor from Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality. Checked 16 Oct 2026.

Every party, the same questions.

The order changes every visit, so no (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) is always first. We don't rank parties or tell you who to vote for.

See all parties →

Ready for 4 November

Wednesday4 Nov

07:00 to 21:00. A public holiday.

3 days to go

Three steps, and you are ready to vote.

  1. Check you're registeredEnter your 13-digit ID number. Or SMS your ID number to 32810 (R1).Check on the IEC site
  2. Find your voting stationOnly at the (Voting station The place where you vote, often a school or a hall. You can only vote at the one where you are registered.) where you are (Registered Your name is on the voters' roll. Registration for this election closed on 7 August 2026.).Find it on the IEC map
  3. Bring your IDGreen ID book, smart ID card or temporary ID certificate.How to vote
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