South Africa Gazettes 10,526 Elected Councillors as Councils Face 14-Day Deadline for First Sittings; R5.1 Billion Package Strengthens GBVF Response
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) announced in Pretoria on November 13 that it has gazetted the names of councillors elected in the 2026 Local Government Elections, and that municipal managers must convene the first meeting of their councils within 14 days after councillors are declared elected. On the same day, Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Sindisiwe Chikunga welcomed a R5.1 billion funding package, announced in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, to strengthen South Africa's response to gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), and Acting Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia condemned the killing of a station commander in KwaZulu-Natal who was shot while responding to a business robbery.
IEC Chairperson Mosotho Moepya said the publication of the list on November 13 will enable planning for the inaugural sittings of municipal councils, and that councillors are deemed to have been elected with effect from November 8, 2026, the date the election results were announced. There are 10,526 seats across the 2026 elections, comprising 8,825 local council seats (4,485 ward seats and 4,340 proportional representation seats) and 1,701 district council seats, of which 707 are directly elected and 994 will be filled by representatives elected from local councils. Women make up 33.6 percent of declared councillors, the average age is 47.3 years, and councillors under 35 account for 10.8 percent. By noon on Friday the Commission had received 1,708 submissions, of which 433 qualified as statutory objections; 252 had been finalised, with three upheld and 249 rejected. Five ward by-elections will be scheduled, four ward contests were decided by lot after tied votes, and the gazetted list excludes Siyancuma Municipality in the Northern Cape, where a revote in a voting district in Ward 3 is scheduled with special voting on November 17 and voting on November 18.
Speaking at a strategic engagement with the Commission for Gender Equality on Pillar 3 of the National Strategic Plan on GBVF, which focuses on justice, safety and protection, Chikunga said R3.8 billion of the package will be allocated over the medium term to recruit 3,552 social workers across the provinces to support GBVF prevention, early intervention, psychosocial support and victim empowerment programmes. The broader R5.1 billion package also includes R186 million to enhance forensic and investigative capacity, the expansion of sexual offences courts from 55 to 101, an increase in Thuthuzela Care Centres from 72 to 80 by 2028/29, and R157.4 million for the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities to strengthen coordination and oversight. She noted that both the national strategic plan and the GBVF disaster management plans remain unfunded mandates that limit the department's capacity, and that the theme of the 2026 16 Days of Activism campaign is men, women, boys and girls working together to end GBVF. The government also acknowledged gaps in the justice system's GBVF response on the same day.
Acting Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia strongly condemned the killing of the Greytown station commander in KwaZulu-Natal. The South African Police Service Lieutenant Colonel was shot on Thursday, November 12, while personally leading members responding to a business robbery in which a business owner was shot and injured and employees were assaulted; a sergeant was also shot and injured and is receiving medical attention. Cachalia described the killing as a senseless and cowardly attack on an officer carrying out her constitutional responsibility to protect communities and uphold the law, and commended the members who pursued the suspects and the collaboration between the police and private security.
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa, who chairs the SADC Committee of Ministers Responsible for Disaster Risk Management, told the committee's seventh ordinary meeting on November 12 that the SADC Humanitarian and Emergency Operations Centre should be fully operationalised as a regional anchor for disaster monitoring, early warning, preparedness coordination and the mobilisation of assistance, and called for the recruitment of the centre's Executive Director to be concluded under the approved roadmap and for State Parties to fulfil their assessed contributions. He said the first SADC Regional Cyclone and Flood Response Simulation Exercise had demonstrated the value of testing regional systems before disasters strike. South Africa also reaffirmed its stance on championing dialogue in the world, with President Cyril Ramaphosa saying the country will continue to champion dialogue, the peaceful resolution of disputes, the protection of civilians and respect for human rights. In other items, two suspects were arrested for allegedly unlawfully issuing driver's licences, eThekwini City Manager Musa Mbhele emphasised infrastructure investment to sustain employment growth, and Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality stepped up preparations for a safe summer initiation season. The afternoon edition also carried features on why every vote matters in local government elections, service delivery, and food security.
(Source: South African Government News Agency)
Source: South African Government News Agency
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：南非政府大楼。GSM 固定图库。 / Photo: South African government buildings. GSM archive photo.
