Over 140 000 Candidates submitted their Nominations to Contest 10 500 Seats for Local Government Elections 2026
At the close of the statutory period for the submission of candidate nominations for the 2026 Local Government Elections at 17h00 on Friday, 28 August 2026, a total of 142 072 candidates had been nominated to contest 10 526 councils’ seats across municipalities.
The immediate task of the Electoral Commission now is to review the submissions for compliance with the legislative requirements governing candidate nominations. This includes among others, checking whether: • candidates had completed acceptance of nomination forms, • political parties and independent candidates had paid the applicable deposits, • independent candidates had submitted the details of registered voters supporting their candidature.
Once these checks are complete, the Electoral Commission will compile and make available the final list of candidates on 16 September 2026.
Based on the foregoing, the Commission wishes to share with the public the following preliminary figures regarding the process to date. 1. Of the nominations received, 299 political parties and 127 independent candidates submitted their nominations through the Online Candidate Nomination System (OCNS)
2. A sum of 205 political parties and 634 independent candidates submitted their nominations manually at Commission offices across the country.
3. Of the 142 072 candidates, 40 241 candidates were nominated by political parties to contest Proportional Representation (PR) seats, and 100 856 candidates were nominated by political parties to contest ward seats.
4. Additionally, 975 independent candidates have been nominated to contest ward seats.
To put the scale of participation into perspective, 99 000 nominations to contest the 2021 Local Government Elections.
Therefore, 142 072 nominations received for the 2026 elections represent an increase of approximately 43% compared with the 2021 elections.
The profile of nominated candidates is dominated by individuals aged between 36 and 55 years, which represents 58%.
The highest concentration, found in the 41-45 year age group, accounts for 16% of nominated candidates.
Gender analysis shows that men account for nearly two-thirds of all nominations. Women’s representation is about 38% overall.
Men also dominated the PR lists with 56% compared to 44% women on the same list. In the ward elections component, 65% are male while women make up 35% of the contestants.
Top municipalities with the highest number of PR The City of Johannesburg has the highest number of PR contestants at 80 parties, followed by the City of Tshwane at 72 parties, eThekwini at 70 parties, Ekurhuleni at 69 parties and the City of Cape Town at 55 parties. Other municipalities in the top 10 are Emfuleni at 43 parties, followed by Polokwane at 40 parties, Rustenburg at 38 parties, Nelson Mandela Bay at 38 parties, and Capricorn District at 38 parties. Captured but not submitted candidates Cumulatively, there are 2 274 candidates who were captured but not finally submitted on the Online Candidate Nomination System by 17h00 on 28 August.
This phenomenon affects 480 PR and 1 794 ward potential candidates. The unique number of political parties in this situation is 45.
The Commission's position is that, in practical terms, these potential candidates have not been submitted to the Commission and therefore are not in contention for this election.
Political contestation Three hundred and forty-five (345) political parties are registered at national level and two hundred and twenty-seven (227) of those have nominated candidates, representing 66% of the registered parties. At the provincial level, 36 parties are registered, with 33 contesting representing 92%; at the metropolitan level, 61 parties are registered, with 49 contesting, representing 80% of the registered parties; and at the district level, 290 parties are registered, with 237 contesting, representing 82%.
Overall, 546 of the 732 registered political parties are contesting these elections. This represents 75% of the registered parties in the Republic.
Next Steps in the Electoral Process
The period from 4 to 25 September 2026 will see several key statutory activities undertaken by the Commission as follows: Request for additional documents: The Electoral Commission may request additional documents from parties and independent candidates on 4 September.
The nature of the documents is limited to copies of identity documents and signed acceptance of nomination forms for certain submitted candidates. Cut-off date for submission of additional documents: Where required, political parties and independent candidates will have until 7 September to submit the requested documents.
Notices pertaining to multiple nominations: The Commission will notify parties, candidates, or persons who have nominated candidates who also appear as independents or as candidates on the list or on the list of other political parties. These notifications will be issued on 9 September.
Compilation of the final list of candidates:
The Commission will compile and make available the final lists of those who have fully met the requirements for candidacy on 16 September.
Inspection of the Provisional Voter’s Roll On Tuesday, 11 August, the Commission opened the period for inspection of the provisional voters’ roll. This inspection period closed on 18 August at 17h00.
The Commission received over 300 objections to the voters’ roll. It upheld 79 of them. The main grounds for objections included the inclusion of voters allegedly not belonging to certain wards. The inverse was also ground of objection, which was the exclusion of voters in certain wards.
The third basis for the objections pertained to alleged incomplete address details. This latter category constituted most of the objections.
Having duly considered the objections in line with the provisions of the legal framework, the Commission communicated its decisions to the objectors on 24 August. The conclusion of the objections process paved the way for the certification for the voters’ roll on 26 August.
Lastly, the Commission commends political parties and independent candidates for offering themselves as candidates in the currently evolving electoral process. As the Commission works to finalize the lists of candidates, those nominated are reminded of their legal obligation to uphold the Electoral Code of Conduct.
The code’s primary import is to create conditions conducive to free and fair elections. The Electoral Commission remains fully committed to delivering elections that are free, fair and credible. Our responsibility is to ensure that this process is conducted in accordance with the law, transparently, consistently and without fear or favour.
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