The 2026 local elections in numbers
Everyone on the ballot on Wednesday 4 November 2026, counted from the IEC’s certified candidate list of 16 September 2026. These are plain counts: nothing here ranks or rates any party.
How crowded are the ward races?
A typical ward has 18 candidates on its ballot. The longest ballot, with 63 candidates, is Ward 10 · Lenasia, Protea South in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. The shortest, with 5, is Ward 5 · Vanwyksvlei, Carnarvon in the Kareeberg Local Municipality.
How old are the candidates?
On election day, the typical ward candidate will be 45 years old: half are younger and half are older. 19% will be under 35 years old. The IEC list gives an age for every ward candidate except one.
By province
| Province | Municipalities | Wards | Ward candidates | Parties with ward candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Cape | 33 | 703 | 10 735 | 89 |
| Free State | 19 | 308 | 5 986 | 84 |
| Gauteng | 9 | 526 | 22 884 | 134 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 44 | 921 | 19 678 | 108 |
| Limpopo | 22 | 568 | 12 169 | 122 |
| Mpumalanga | 17 | 408 | 7 097 | 84 |
| North West | 18 | 402 | 7 030 | 80 |
| Northern Cape | 26 | 233 | 2 755 | 54 |
| Western Cape | 25 | 416 | 9 847 | 105 |
Candidates per party
Every party on a ballot, sorted by its number of ward candidates (at most one per ward), then by the people on its council lists. Someone can be both a ward candidate and on a list, so the total counts places on the ballot, not people. “Municipalities” counts every municipality where the party has a ward candidate or a council list. Ages are its ward candidates’ ages on election day, shown only where it has at least 30 of them. Tap a party to see all its candidates.
| Party | Ward candidates | On council lists | Total | Municipalities | Typical age (years) | Under 35 years old |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Alliance | 4 485 | 4 448 | 8 933 | 213 | 47 | 14% |
| Economic Freedom Fighters | 4 484 | 257 | 4 741 | 213 | 40 | 29% |
| African National Congress | 4 420 | 4 416 | 8 836 | 211 | 45 | 12% |
| South African Communist Party | 4 397 | 2 144 | 6 541 | 205 | 46 | 15% |
| Afrika Mayibuye Movement | 4 359 | 215 | 4 574 | 198 | 41 | 27% |
| Umkhonto Wesizwe Party | 3 770 | 208 | 3 978 | 188 | 44 | 17% |
| Freedom Front Plus (Vryheidsfront Plus) | 3 389 | 1 587 | 4 976 | 160 | 51 | 10% |
| Patriotic Alliance | 2 932 | 1 890 | 4 822 | 168 | 45 | 20% |
| African Transformation Movement | 2 617 | 4 458 | 7 075 | 171 | 43 | 24% |
| Pan Africanist Congress of Azania | 2 609 | 1 651 | 4 260 | 112 | 47 | 22% |
| ActionSA | 2 418 | 108 | 2 526 | 78 | 43 | 21% |
| African Christian Democratic Party | 1 923 | 941 | 2 864 | 98 | 51 | 13% |
| Inkatha Freedom Party | 1 921 | 1 263 | 3 184 | 105 | 43 | 18% |
| African People's Convention | 1 784 | 734 | 2 518 | 50 | 44 | 18% |
| Service Delivery Party | 1 619 | 109 | 1 728 | 44 | 44 | 20% |
| African Independent Congress | 1 613 | 353 | 1 966 | 49 | 40 | 23% |
| Labour Party of South Africa | 1 553 | 45 | 1 598 | 45 | 46 | 12% |
| Al Jama-Ah | 1 501 | 224 | 1 725 | 36 | 46 | 18% |
| Organic Humanity Movement | 1 390 | 102 | 1 492 | 42 | 48 | 21% |
| Congress of the People | 1 230 | 144 | 1 374 | 32 | 54 | 9% |