LOCAL ELECTIONS: IEC says ‘aberrations will arise’ during voting but ‘performance will improve’

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) revealed that some irregularities were to be expected during the 217 voting stations across Cape Town experiencing delays during the first day of special voting for the 2026 Local Government Elections. IEC national spokesperson Kate Bapela and CEO Sy Mamabolo addressed the concerns, emphasizing that such "aberrations" are inevitable due to the scale of the operation, involving 127,000 staff members and 23,000 voting stations.

The commission acknowledged the challenges faced in distributing ballot papers, attributing the late distribution to a process that continued into the early hours of Monday morning.

Despite the issues, the election officials reported that the affected voting stations in Cape Town had opened and remained operational throughout the day. The IEC apologized to voters affected by the delays but assured that the performance would improve on Wednesday, the main voting day. The commission stressed that the distribution glitches were the result of pressured ballot paper production and distribution, rather than politically motivated issues.

Concerns were also raised about the secrecy of ballots, following a complaint from SABC political analyst Kanyi Magubane. The IEC explained that voting booths were positioned in an "ATM-style" arrangement to observe the voting process without seeing how the voter marked their ballot. The commission emphasized that this arrangement protected the secrecy of ballots while preventing voters from photographing their ballot papers.

They encouraged voters approved for home visits to remain at the specified addresses for easier location by election officials. Special voting would continue on Tuesday, 3 November, with the main election day on Wednesday, 4 November.