Midrand:The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) is currently examining objections submitted by political parties concerning the 2026 Local Government Elections results. This comes as the Commission prepares to announce the final results.
According to South African Government News Agency, the IEC has received 197 objections by 3pm on Saturday. Out of these, 54 objections have been dismissed, eight have been withdrawn, and two have been upheld.
The IEC Chairperson, Mosotho Moepya, highlighted that Section 65 of the Municipal Electoral Act (MEA) allows interested parties to lodge objections that are significant to the final results of the election. These objections can pertain to voting procedures, the counting of votes, or any alleged unlawful activities or interference near or at voting stations.
Moepya addressed these issues during a media briefing at the National Results Operations Centre (ROC) in Midrand, where he updated the public on the status of objections and the finalisation of election results. South Africans had cast their votes on Wednesday to elect representatives to municipal councils, and objections were to be submitted by 5pm on Friday, 6 November 2026.
Under sections 65(4) and 65(5) of the MEA, the Commission is obligated to investigate each objection and decide whether to uphold or reject it, subsequently informing the objector and any interested parties of its decision. The Commission clarified that it could uphold an objection before or after the election results are declared, which could involve altering vote counts or amending results if necessary.
The Commission is committed to resolving all objections before declaring the election results. Results processing is already complete for municipalities in several provinces, including the Free State and Western Cape. However, finalisation is still pending in certain municipalities in Gauteng, North West, and KwaZulu-Natal.
The IEC aims to complete the remaining processes and announce the Local Government Elections 2026 results on Sunday, 8 November 2026, at 6pm.