LOCAL ELECTIONS 2026: Losing councillors to share R300m in final round of gratuity payments
The government has set aside R300m to cushion unseated councillors in 2026 – a final round of golden handshakes reallocated from municipal infrastructure budgets amid sustainability concerns.
The 2026 local elections in South Africa saw a higher voter turnout compared to the 2021 elections, with 52% of registered voters casting their ballots. However, a significant disparity in voter turnout persisted between townships and suburban areas. While suburban areas, particularly those with strong support for the Democratic Alliance (DA), recorded higher voter turnout, reaching up to 73.31% in Ward 85, townships saw much lower engagement, with some areas seeing turnout as low as 44%.
Despite the overall increase in voter turnout, only about two-thirds of eligible voters participated, with a total of 15.9 million South Africans voting during the elections. The Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) noted that wards in Soweto and northern suburbs of Johannesburg had higher average turnouts, while townships generally lagged behind.
Factors contributing to the lower turnout in townships include residents' perception of local government as less important and lower satisfaction with municipal governance. In contrast, suburban residents often expressed concerns about property values and the impact of municipal decisions on their neighborhoods.
Written by urgent.news from Daily Maverick's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
