South Africa electoral commission details 2026 local election operations

The Electoral Commission of South Africa delivered an address on the conclusion of the 2026 Local Government Elections, presenting an operational and accountability report on the election process.

• The Commission said it introduced the first Virtual Results Operating Center (Virtual ROC), enabled remote access to selected results tools, deployed 56,000 Voter Management Devices, and expanded the social media team to 25 specialists to combat disinformation.
• It also reported printing just over 100 million ballot papers, with about 28 million superseded after a 15 October 2026 Constitutional Court order affecting 181 ANC candidates in six municipalities and extending the dispensation to 32 other political parties; it said 15.2 million citizens voted and 188,000 staff served at 23,696 voting stations.