By Mzukona Mantshontsho
President Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa officially announced 4 November 2026 as the date for South Africa’s upcoming Local Government Elections, setting the stage for political parties and voters to begin preparations.
The President made the announcement during the Extended Presidential Coordinating Council (PCC) meeting at the Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre in Ekurhuleni, where he was meeting with Premiers, mayors and senior government officials.
“I therefore determine that the next local Government Elections will be held on a Wednesday, on a date I now determine as the 4th of November 2026. Therefore, with the full concurrence of the Deputy President here, I now determine that the next Local Government Elections will be held on 4 November 2026,” President Ramaphosa said.
The proclamation followed consultations with Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa.
Special voting for the 2026 Local Government Elections will take place on 2 and 3 November 2026, 08:00 to 17:00 ahead of Election Day on 4 November 2026, when voting will take place from 07:00 to 21:00.
Also remember that Election Day has been declared a public holiday, but special voting days are ordinary working days.
Make sure you have the correct dates and stay informed as we prepare for the 2026 Local Government Elections.
South Africans vote in local government elections on Wednesday, November 4.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) expects generative AI to create fertile ground for disinformation, and Chairperson Mosotho Moepya earlier this year compared the task to forecasting in the middle of a Category 5 hurricane.
To combat this, the IEC published its Disinformation Code on September 4, 2026, which bars political parties, candidates and anyone acting on their behalf, online and offline, from spreading disinformation.
I spoke to Fungai Machirori, a researcher and social commentator on digital and social media. Her main research area is around African digital cosmopolitanism: how Africans are creating a narrative via the internet that challenges the idea that digital trends and information flow in a fixed way from the west to the rest of the world.
Machirori is an independent communications specialist, and she runs the Digitally Native Podcast where she discusses different issues relating to the digital world.
She has a BSc Honours in journalism and media studies from the National University of Science and Technology, as well as a Master’s in International development from the University of Reading. Machirori was a visiting fellow in new media and feminist activism at Mount Holyoke College.
South Africans vote in local government elections on Wednesday, November 4, just over three weeks away.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) expects generative AI to create fertile ground for disinformation, and Chairperson Mosotho Moepya earlier this year compared the task to forecasting in the middle of a Category 5 hurricane.
To combat this, the IEC published its Disinformation Code on September 4, 2026, which bars political parties, candidates and anyone acting on their behalf, online and offline, from spreading disinformation.
The culture of spreading disinformation, how prevalent is it in South Africa? How can our learners and young people avoid this trend? And go to reliable sources?
Disinformation has become quite prevalent in South Africa and across the continent. This is because of so much access to social media and now, content that is manipulated by AI. It is becoming more and more difficult to differentiate accurate information from information that is doctored. A way around this is to teach more about this in the home. Schools will always be a place where young people get all kinds of information and the best way to build their capacity to discern facts from falsehoods is through teaching them about this at home. Parents and caregivers can have conversations with young people where they guide them through what to do when they receive information from other people.
What is a reliable source, what can our learners and young people look out for? How can they verify information before these elections?
A simple place to begin is to look up something they have seen on another platform like Google and to look for trustworthy news sources (like News24, SABC News and others) to see if they have also reported the same story. Young people must understand that something being shared to social media does not automatically make it true.
How do we get our learners and young people interested in voting from where you are sitting, what can we change as a country to get our learners and young people excited about being part of electing leaders in local government?
It is important that local government campaigns make use of social media and other platforms where young people are found to spread their messaging and use engaging language that speaks to young people’s interested and aspirations.
As we go to the 2026 Local Government Elections perhaps these are some of the thoughts we should have in mind: Every time new LEADERSHIP is introduced, it allows for new enthusiasm, innovations, ideas and a change of mindset.
Observing the politics, emotions and theatrics at play every time there is a change in leadership; people react either with enthusiasm or strong resistance. Our reaction to new leadership is based on the reputation of the existing leadership, combined with expectations and hopes of improvement from the new one.
Either way, the introduction of new leadership and political parties brings with it a weird mixture of uncertainty, combined with hope and excitement.
If we do not like our leaders we must banish them,
If we do not like our government, we must fight to change it.
If we do not like the way things are going, we must speak out and stop it.
Building a great South Africa is the job of each one of us. We can never entrust that to just the 400 people seated in the comfortable seats of our BURNT parliament – but we can direct them!
