Pretoria:Following a successful voting process on Wednesday, vote counting in the 2026 Local Government Elections (LGE) is underway. Voting stations closed their doors at 9pm on Voting Day, November 4, 2026, with the Electoral Commission expressing confidence that all voters who were in line at the cut-off time were given the opportunity to cast their ballots.
According to South African Government News Agency, the Chief Electoral Officer, Sy Mamabolo, stated that the counting, tallying, and verification of votes continued throughout the night with the presence of political party agents, independent candidate agents, and accredited observers. Speaking at a media briefing on Thursday, Mamabolo emphasized the importance of the results capturing process as a crucial phase of election results management and transmission.
Mamabolo underscored the procedural aspect of the counting of ballots, which occurs at the voting station where the ballots were cast to ensure complete accountability and recording. After counting, result slips are captured in duplicate in front of agents and observers, with the opportunity for them to make photographic records. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) also captures images of the results to facilitate retrieval if required. These result slips are then transported in tamper-evident envelopes to local capturing sites, where stringent quality assurance measures are applied.
As of 9am, 66,073 result slips were expected from the local municipality, metro, and district council votes across 23,696 voting stations countrywide. Approximately 23,444 (35.5%) of the expected results slips have been scanned into the results system, and 22,983 (34.8%) have been captured, with 16,791 (25.4%) independently audited.
The Commission reported that results from 18 local municipalities (7%) had been concluded by 9am. In a comparative election in 2021 at the same time, only seven municipalities were completed. Despite the increased lengths of ballot papers and higher numbers of contestants and voter participation, the rate of capturing has improved.
The Commission has called for patience from political parties, independent candidates, and their supporters, urging them to allow the counting and results-capturing processes to unfold. Mamabolo advised against spreading unverified information or disinformation about election results to prevent unnecessary tensions or potential violence.
The public, media, and political contestants have been invited to follow the results on various IEC platforms, including the website, mobile app, and WhatsApp channel. The government has expressed gratitude to voters for participating in the elections.
Source South African Government News Agency