By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo says the commission will respect and implement any decision handed down by the courts.
The Constitutional Court is expected to hand down judgment tomorrow in the African National Congress (ANC) bid to have 181 councillor candidates included on the candidates list ahead of the 4 November Local Government Elections.
The ruling follows an urgent application by the party challenging the Electoral Commission’s decision to disqualify its candidate lists in six municipalities.
Addressing media in Pretoria on Wednesday, Mamabolo said the Constitutional Court remains the final arbiter of electoral disputes. He added that the IEC is not considering any changes to the election timetable.
While some Constitutional Court justices questioned whether an IEC software button could disenfranchise voters, others pressed the ANC on why it failed to follow a process it had known and used for years.
Mamabolo also said the Commission approved a record 2 655 067 special vote applications ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections, representing a 131% increase compared with the 1 147 759 applications approved for the 2021 elections.
He said the Commission had approved 678 525 home visit applications, an increase of 171 118, or 33.7%, compared with the 507 407 approved in 2021.
According to Mamabolo, KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest number of approved home visit applications, at 143 714.
“Most applications, totalling 2 426 066, were submitted through online platforms, while 171 214 manually submitted applications had been captured at IEC offices. The capturing process is being finalised, with completion targeted for 16 October 2026,” Mamabolo said.
Mamabolo said based on figures captured thus far, Gauteng has recorded the highest number of approved special votes, at 480 721, followed by the Eastern Cape, with 401 971. KwaZulu-Natal recorded 348 971, Limpopo 341 623, Mpumalanga 292 775 and the Western Cape 291 866.
The remaining provinces recorded 235 733 applications in the North West, 132 088 in the Free State and 129 319 in the Northern Cape.
Special voting will take place on 2 and 3 November 2026, ahead of Election Day on 4 November.
Election Results System audit
Mamabolo said as part of its preparations, the Commission provided political party contestants with access to the Election Results System from 5 – 12 October following an external and independent audit and the implementation of remedial measures.
The exercise was intended to allow contestants to test the system’s integrity, functionality, security and reliability.
Ballot paper production
Mamabolo said the printing of ballot papers is underway, with more than 66% of the 79 million ballots already printed.
“The production is expected to conclude by Sunday, 18 October 2026. The Commission has distributed the bulk of non-security election materials to local municipalities in readiness for the special voting on 2 and 3 November and Election Day on 4 November,” Mamabolo said.
Mamabolo said all 23 696 voting stations have been secured, with leases concluded for 22 659 permanent voting stations.
“Arrangements are being finalised to establish temporary infrastructure at 1 005 temporary stations and to support 33 mobile voting stations.”