South Africa: Special Voting Begins for Local Elections as 678,525 Home-Visit Voters Told to Stay Home for Officials
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) urged voters approved for home-visit special voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections to remain at their registered addresses on Monday and Tuesday, November 2 and 3, until electoral officials arrive to assist them in casting their ballots, the commission said at a media briefing on Sunday, November 1. Election Day is Wednesday, November 4.
The commission said 678,525 voters have been approved to cast special votes at their places of residence due to physical infirmity or disability, and it has deployed 127,000 electoral officials to administer home visits and voting station-based special voting over the two days. Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo said that given the sheer number of home visitations to be made within two days, often covering vast areas, officials will not return to the same address if voters are not there when they first arrive. KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest number of approved home visits at 143,714.
Voters who miss their home visit will not be disenfranchised, the commission said: they can still visit their voting station on November 4 to vote. Special votes will be securely stored and reconciled with the records before being counted alongside ballots cast on Election Day. The commission called on all stakeholders to respect the integrity of the process and refrain from conduct that could intimidate voters or officials, obstruct voting or interfere with home-visit routes and election materials.
SAnews reported that a record 2,655,067 special vote applications were approved ahead of this election, a 131 percent increase on the 1,147,759 approved for the 2021 elections, after the application period opened on September 21 and closed at 5 p.m. on October 12. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni on November 2 urged eligible South Africans to vote and choose councillors who will be accountable to their communities, and the Department of Home Affairs extended office hours to 6 p.m. on November 2 and 3, and to 9 p.m. on Election Day, so voters can collect or apply for identity documents.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 照片：南非帕阿尔一处投票站（2026年6月），Lefcentreright 摄，Wikimedia Commons，CC0 授权 / Photo: A voting station in Paarl, South Africa (June 2026), by Lefcentreright, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
