When will the elections be? Registration weekend announced as IEC awaits proclamation

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has called for an early announcement of the date for the Local Government Elections, as it is the view of the commission that this is critical for citizens to decide where they will be on voting day. This is according to chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo, who this morning addressed the media on the IEC’s readiness for the upcoming elections. Mamabolo said voters need to know where they will be, to determine where they register.

He used the example of a student studying in one province, but living in another. “In a local government election, there is no facility to vote outside of the voting station of registration,” he emphasised. Once the Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Velenkosini Hlabisa, officially announces the election date, the window to register closes almost immediately.

Eligible voters have only until midnight on that same day to get onto the roll; if you miss this deadline, you will not be able to vote in this election. The proclamation of the Election Day date will officially start the activities needed to prepare for the election. These include: Mamabolo said that talks with the minister are at an advanced stage and that he hopes a date will be announced in the ‘not too distant future’.

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The elections must take place between November and the end of January 2027, per the Constitution, which Mamabolo concedes is not an ideal period, given the November school exams and the festive period. Asked if Hlabisa, who is also the leader of the IFP, holds an unfair advantage in terms of planning, Mamabolo emphasised that the minister makes this decision from a non-partisan position and not as the leader of a political party. While a voter registration weekend will take place on June 20 and 21, a steady increase in the number of citizens using the online self-registration platform has been noted.

According to Mamabolo, more South Africans are also taking advantage of outreach initiatives to register and update their details. “Between November 2025 and March 2026, 260 205 new registrations were recorded on the online voter registration campaign,” he added. Asked about concerns over foreign nationals and voting, Mamabolo said the IEC checks people’s details with Home Affairs before adding them to the voters’ roll, which currently has 27 million names.

He said the commission is committed to an ‘incident-free’ registration process and a ‘smooth and efficient’ voting day. The IEC’s voter education drive runs year-round and has:

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