Central Johannesburg seen from above (archive photo) photo. Central Johannesburg seen from a high tower, with the city centre streets below.

South Africa's local elections began on Monday with a rocky start, as late ballot papers delayed voting at several Cape Town stations. The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), the independent body that runs the country's elections, estimated that about 780,000 special votes were cast on day one.

Special voting is for people who cannot reach a station on election day, and the main vote follows on Wednesday, 4 November 2026. Follow the count in our South Africa local elections live hub.

Key Facts

• Turnout: About 780,000 special votes were cast on Monday, 2 November, which IEC chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo called a conservative estimate.
• Delays: Several Cape Town stations opened late and stayed open until 6 p.m. local time (11 a.m. ET).
• Scale: About 2.6 million voters are approved for special votes on 2 and 3 November, and 127,000 officials work at about 23,000 stations.
• Next: Special voting ends Tuesday, 3 November, and election day is Wednesday, 4 November.
• Prediction markets: Polymarket, a trading platform, gives Helen Zille, the Democratic Alliance's Johannesburg candidate, about 56% to be next mayor (2:22 p.m. ET, 2 November).

Special Voting Opens With Delays

Special voting is for registered voters who cannot reach a voting station on election day because of infirmity, disability or absence. About 2.6 million voters are approved to vote on Monday and Tuesday, with the rest visited at home.

Several Cape Town stations opened late because ballot papers had not finished being distributed, Mamabolo told a briefing. Those stations stayed open until 6 p.m. local time (11 a.m. ET), an hour past the official 5 p.m. close (10 a.m. ET).

Mamabolo apologised and said the delay was "not a political machination" but a consequence of a pressurised process to produce the ballot paper. A station in Matjhabeng, a municipality in the Free State province, was reported closed until 10 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET), and he said the IEC verifies provincial reports before releasing them.

Why the Ballots Were Late

The Constitutional Court, South Africa's highest court on constitutional matters, ruled in favour of the African National Congress (ANC), the party that has long dominated national politics. The ruling added 181 ANC candidates who had been excluded because their lists were not fully formalised by the 28 August deadline.

Candidates from 32 other parties in similar circumstances were also added, and an extra 6.6 million ballots had to be printed. Distribution of the reprinted papers was still under way as special voting began.

Rain, Heat and the Road to Wednesday

Mamabolo promised a smoother second day, and noted that with "127,000 people, as well as 23,000 voting stations, aberrations are going to arise." Rain affected access in the Eastern Cape, and heat caused problems in Limpopo, North West and parts of Mpumalanga.

A booth-positioning issue was reported at Rivonia Village Hall in Johannesburg. Masego Sheburi, the IEC's deputy chief electoral officer for electoral operations, said booths should be placed in an "ATM position", so officials can observe the process without seeing how individuals mark their ballots.

Voters who were approved for a home visit are covered by the IEC's special-vote arrangements for 2 and 3 November. Check the IEC's own channels if a visit was missed.

What Prediction Markets Say

Polymarket, a prediction market where users trade on outcomes, lists Helen Zille at about 56% to become Johannesburg's next mayor. Zille is the Democratic Alliance's mayoral candidate and a former Western Cape premier.

Herman Mashaba, a former Johannesburg mayor who now leads the party ActionSA, trades at 7.4%. The Rev. Frank Chikane, a church leader widely reported as the ANC's frontrunner, trades at 6.3%.

About US$137,000 has been traded on the market, with prices read at 2:22 p.m. ET on 2 November. These are bets, not polls, and Johannesburg's mayor is chosen by the city council after the vote, so coalition deals will matter.

Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.

What the Polls Said

Ipsos, a research firm, published a poll on 30 October that put the ANC at 30% nationally and 27% in Johannesburg, with the Democratic Alliance (DA) at 30% in the city. The DA is the ANC's main rival in Johannesburg.

MarkData, another research firm, surveyed Johannesburg from 10 August to 14 September and found the DA on 35% and the ANC on 21.8%. The two Johannesburg results differ, and they were fielded at different times with different methods.

What It Means for US Readers

South Africa is seven hours ahead of US Eastern time after US clocks changed on 1 November. Election day on Wednesday, 4 November runs from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time, which is midnight to 2 p.m. ET.

The IEC has not confirmed when the first results will appear. We will update the live hub as it releases them.

What Is Not Known

The 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. voting hours come from our earlier coverage and were not re-verified at the IEC for this article. The exact time the first results will be announced is also unconfirmed.

Sources differ on the total number of ballot papers reprinted, so we do not give one. Whether every special voter will be reached at home is also not yet clear.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many special votes were cast on Monday?

The IEC estimated about 780,000 on 2 November. Chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo called that a conservative estimate.

When is election day?

It is Wednesday, 4 November 2026. Special voting for approved voters runs on Monday, 2 November, and Tuesday, 3 November.

Who runs South Africa's elections?

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), an independent body, runs them. Sy Mamabolo is its chief electoral officer.

Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error