Day 2 of special votes concludes

Special voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections concluded successfully, with 1 425 942 voters having voted between 2 and 3 November 2026, the Electoral Commission said on Tuesday.

“An hour ago, the Electoral Commission successfully concluded the two-day special voting, providing approximately 2.6 million approved voters who [were] otherwise unable to vote on Election Day with an opportunity to cast their votes in advance. Election staff successfully facilitated special voting at voting stations and through home visits.

“The Commission is pleased to report that at the time of closing, 1 425 942 voters had recorded as having voted between 2 and 3 November 2026,” IEC Chairperson Mosotho Moepya said.

Special voting on both days commenced at 8am and concluded at 5pm.

Special voting is an inclusivity mechanism in the country's electoral scheme, catering for registered voters who may not be able to reach voting stations due to physical infirmity or disability, and for those who may, for various reasons, not be in a position to present themselves on Election Day at voting stations within the wards where they are registered.
Out of these, 974 852 voters voted at voting stations, and 451090 voted through home visits.

The provincial breakdown is as follows:
Gauteng 264 898
KwaZulu-Natal 208 846
Eastern Cape 207 258
Limpopo 180 627
Mpumalanga149 714
Western Cape 148 493
North West 126 187
Free State 75 946
Northern Cape 63 973

“These are preliminary indications which will be finalised tonight. In terms of the law, the special votes have been securely stored and will be counted together with the 4 November 2026 Election Day ballots after closing of voting stations. [This means] the voting station results will be tallied together with the rest of the results and announced as part of the overall election results per voting station,” Moepya explained.

The Electoral Commission said it was encouraged by the enthusiasm of South Africans who showed up on two days of special voting.

At a media briefing earlier on Tuesday, the Commission condemned incidents of intimidation, disruption and damage to election materials, adding that it is taking legal action against the individuals and political parties involved.

READ | IEC condemns election-related intimidation and disruptions

With special voting having concluded, South Africans will head to the polls on Wednesday, 4 November to cast their votes in the 2026 Local Government Elections. -SAnews.gov.za 

 

Source: Original report at SAnews.gov.za.