IEC orders revote following Douglas incident

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has ordered a revote at the Jabulani Community Hall voting station in the Northern Cape, following the destruction of ballot papers before they could be counted during the 2026 Local Government Elections. 

The revote will take place in the voting district of Jabulani Community Hall, Ward 3 of the Siyancuma Local Municipality in the Northern Cape.

IEC Chairperson Mosotho Moepya announced this decision on Sunday, during the official declaration of the 2026 Local Government Election results at the IEC Results Operations Centre in Midrand.

Moepya said the decision was taken in terms of Section 10 of the Local Government Municipal Structures Act, which provides for a revote where ballot papers are lost, destroyed or unlawfully removed before votes cast at a voting station are counted.

“The Commission has determined that a revote must be organised in Ward 3, Siyancuma Municipality, for voting district Jabulani Community Hall. This is so because the ballot papers cast at that station were destroyed before the count. In addition, the Commission has approached the Electoral Court as well as registering a criminal case with the South African Police Service,” he said. 

The incident in Douglas saw activists from a political party allegedly storm the voting station and destroy ballot papers.

The IEC said the revote forms part of its responsibility to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process and ensure that the affected voters are able to exercise their democratic right.

The Commission declared the 2026 Local Government Elections free and fair, with Moepya noting that the elections were largely conducted in a peaceful environment.

READ | Commission declares elections free and fair

The national voter turnout stood at 52%, an increase of 6.1 percentage points from the 45.9% recorded during the 2021 Local Government Elections.

The IEC confirmed that all 213 municipal councils had been finalised and declared. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: Original report at SAnews.gov.za.