The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) is taking significant steps to ensure the smooth execution of the upcoming local government elections (LGE) by hosting an informative workshop in KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday. The workshop serves as a crucial platform for all parties and candidates planning to contest the LGE to obtain the same information simultaneously. 

However, the redemarcation of ward boundaries is proving to be a challenge.

IEC KZN Provincial Electoral Officer Ntombifuthi Masinga said the timing is critical because they are exactly a year to the earliest possible election dates, because the election needs to happen anytime between the start of November 2026 and the end of January 2027. 

“We thought, let’s just get them all together, give them all the information that they may need, including how they can register parties that they still want to register,” Masinga explained. 

She said their plans are for the earliest possible election date and the road map is based on the election possibly happening on the very first Wednesday, which is November 4.

Since the IEC has already started planning for the LGE, it has also picked up on some challenges. 

Masinga noted that one challenge is the redemarcation of ward boundaries by the Municipal Demarcation Board before local government elections. This is necessary because population shifts require updating ward boundaries to maintain a consistent population norm.

She added that changing ward numbers is consistently challenging because residents often resist. People develop strong attachments to their current ward number and an established relationship with their councillor, making them averse to having their area moved to a different ward.

“That is one of the biggest challenges because once your ward boundary changes, your voting district boundaries are going to change as well, and you need to register afresh, and people do not want to do that,” Masinga said. 

She stressed that continuous education is vital to inform everyone that re-registration in their new voting district and ward is mandatory to vote. Voters must be registered in the correct ward and appear on that ward’s voters’ roll, as they can only vote where registered.

Masinga said people need to know where they are registered and they need to understand that if they are affected, they need to register afresh. 

“We cannot emphasise that more because we’re gonna have a lot of people that are going to be disappointed in next year’s elections,” Masinga said. 

“For local government elections, unfortunately, that is not going to be the case. You need to correct your registration now,” Masinga said.

She added that the public is urged to check their registration status. They can do this by sending their ID number to 32810. Alternatively, they can call the IEC’s toll-free number, 0800 11 8000, and they will inform them if they are impacted by the boundary changes and need to re-register.

thobeka.ngema@inl.co.za 

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