The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) will deploy commissioners and staff to monitor the 2026 Local Government Elections across all nine provinces on Wednesday, with a focus on ensuring that gender discrimination does not prevent citizens from exercising their right to vote.
In a statement on Monday, the Commission said the monitoring exercise would assess whether citizens, particularly vulnerable groups, were able to participate in the electoral process without discrimination.
The CGE said its monitors would visit voting districts in urban, peri-urban and rural communities, including informal settlements, to assess participation in the elections.
“The CGE’s concern is to ensure that there are no impediments to any citizen, particularly through gender discrimination, in exercising their rights to participate in elections,” the Commission said.
The Commission said gender equality should be reflected across all spheres, including electoral processes, political participation, representation in government’s decision-making structures and leadership within political parties.
The monitoring exercise will culminate in an Election Monitoring Report outlining the Commission’s assessment of the conduct of the 2026 Local Government Elections.
The CGE said the findings would contribute towards supporting and strengthening South Africa’s democracy from a gender equality perspective. – SAnews.gov.za
Source: Original report at SAnews.gov.za.
