More than 3.5 million South Africans had cast their ballots within the first three hours of voting on Wednesday as the 2026 Local Government Elections got underway, with Gauteng recording the highest number of voters nationally.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) said preliminary figures showed that 3 523 691 voters had voted across the country’s nine provinces by 10 am, signalling strong early participation in an election that will determine the leadership of municipalities for the next five years.
Briefing the media at the National Results Operations Centre in Midrand, IEC Deputy Chief Electoral Officer for Electoral Matters Masego Sheburi said the commission was encouraged by the early turnout and the overall progress of voting.
“Voting is proceeding well across the country, with 98% of the 23 996 voting stations having opened by the regulated time of 7 o’clock in the morning. To illustrate its performance, by 10 o’clock, our preliminary indications are that 3.5 million voters had already voted,” Sheburi said.
Gauteng led the provincial breakdown, with 895 384 voters having cast their ballots by 10 am, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 623 380.
The Western Cape recorded 461 264 voters, while the Eastern Cape had 431 123.
Limpopo recorded 366 378 votes, followed by Mpumalanga with 252 859, North West with 204 736, the Free State with 195 537 and the Northern Cape with 93 030.
The figures provide an early indication of voter participation but do not represent the final turnout percentage, which will only become clear once voting has concluded and the results process is completed.
Sheburi attributed the improved processing of voters at stations partly to additional efficiency measures introduced by the commission, including handheld barcode scanners attached to voter management devices.
“As an efficiency measure, the commission has added the use of hand-held barcode scanners attached to the voter management devices. These have assisted in the increased speed in which we process voters and therefore manage queues at voting stations,” he said.
He described the voter management devices as central to the administration of the electoral process, saying they had helped improve the processing of voters.
“The voter management device is proving to be the mainstay of both the registration process as well as the election,” Sheburi said.
The commission also encouraged voters to make their way to voting stations early to avoid congestion later in the day.
“The commission is particularly encouraged by those voters who make their way to stations early in the morning to avoid the last-hour rushes in the afternoon,” Sheburi said.
He urged those who had not yet voted to use the remaining voting hours to exercise their democratic right and influence the affairs of their municipalities.
“We urge all remaining registered voters to use the remaining hours of voting to cast their ballot and thereby exercise their democratic right and continue to influence affairs in their locality and in their municipalities.”
Despite the generally smooth start, the IEC acknowledged that some voting stations had experienced delays because of localised protests and adverse weather conditions.
Sheburi said a few stations in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga had opened later than scheduled.
“A few voting stations opened by 9 due to localised protests and access challenges due to inclement weather. Those were in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and one in Mpumalanga province. We confirm that by 9 o’clock all stations were operating,” he said.
The IEC’s KwaZulu-Natal office separately reported that 50 voting stations in Ndwedwe experienced logistical delays, while three stations in Umzumbe were affected by inaccessible roads, prompting assistance from the South African Police Service and the South African National Defence Force.
The provincial office also reported the theft of unused ballot papers, election security materials and the certified voters’ roll at Mnyameni Secondary School in eThekwini’s Ward 2.
The commission said the voting station had sufficient election materials to continue operating, although the voters’ roll had to be reprinted. A theft case had been opened.
Wednesday’s election follows two days of special voting on November 2 and 3, which allowed approved voters who could not reach their voting stations on Election Day, including those with physical infirmities or disabilities, to cast their ballots.
The IEC said special votes had been securely stored and would be counted alongside ballots cast on Election Day after voting stations closed. South Africans were voting at 23 996 voting stations across the country, with approximately 29.2 million registered voters eligible to participate
Voting stations are scheduled to close at 9pm.
The early turnout comes as voters decide who should lead their municipalities amid persistent concerns about service delivery, water shortages, electricity interruptions, poor infrastructure, waste management and local government accountability.