South Africa reports 15.9m election participants; results pending

Thursday 5th November 2026

By inAfrika Newsroom

South Africa’s Electoral Commission reported preliminary participation of 15.9 million people in the municipal elections on 5 November, including special voters, while counting and verification continued.

Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Masego Sheburi said final turnout figures and demographic breakdowns would be available after the count. SAnews reported his briefing a day after voting closed.

Sheburi said objections that could materially affect declared results must be submitted by 5pm on Friday, 6 November, South African time. The commission would determine final results after dealing with objections; figures displayed at voting stations remain provisional.

The commission said it had received just over 800 complaints by Wednesday night, mostly about party agents allegedly being prevented from observing proceedings. About 106 remained open. Sheburi distinguished these complaints from formal objections.

At 9am on Thursday, 22,983 of 66,073 expected results slips had been captured and 16,791 independently audited. These counts concern result slips, rather than individual voters or ballot papers, the commission’s earlier update explained.

Counting takes place at voting stations. Results then undergo double-blind data entry and an independent audit before declaration. The IEC directs readers to its official results platforms for updates.

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