BY DR FUMENE GEORGE TSIBANI:
A total of 142072 candidates have been nominated to contest 10526 seats in the local government elections scheduled for 4 November 2026. That equates to almost 14 contenders for every available position across 257 municipalities and approximately 4044 wards.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) confirmed this week that nominations have increased by 43% compared with the 99000 nominations received for the 2021 local elections. The scale of contestation is unprecedented and it raises a critical question about motive and quality.
The first factor is unemployment. South Africa has an official unemployment rate of 32.9%, with youth unemployment above 60%. In that context a council seat represents secure employment. A ward councillor earns a minimum of R250000 per annum, with proportional representation councillors earning more. In many rural municipalities such an income is equivalent to a senior management salary. As a result a council seat is now regarded by many graduates as a job rather than purely a vocation. This helps explain the age profile. The Commission reports that 58% of candidates are aged 36 to 55, with the largest single cohort aged 41 to 45.
The second factor is the emergence of coalition politics. Prior to 2021 conventional wisdom suggested that a party required at least 10% of the vote to exercise influence. The 2021 local elections and the 2024 national elections disproved that assumption. Small parties discovered that a single seat could confer significant bargaining power. The City of Tshwane will have 72 parties contesting its proportional representation ballot and eThekwini 70. In such a fragmented environment a party does not need to win a municipality outright. It requires only a fraction of a percent to secure one seat and then negotiate for a Member of Mayoral Committee (MMC) position or a committee chairpersonship. As a result 546 of the 732 registered political parties will contest this election.
The third factor is accessibility. Contesting national elections requires substantial deposits and extensive signature collection. Contesting local elections is far less onerous. The deposit is R3500 per party per municipality for proportional representation lists and R1000 per ward candidate, while independent candidates require only 50 signatures from registered voters. The introduction of the Online Candidate Nomination System (OCNS) has further simplified the process, allowing parties to capture nominations electronically. The Commission confirmed that 299 political parties used the online system.
The fourth factor relates to the changing fortunes of the major parties. The African National Congress (ANC) lost 21 councils in 2021, while the Democratic Alliance (DA) lost ground in 2024. Branch members who might previously have waited a decade for deployment now pursue alternative routes. This explains the sharp rise in independent candidates. A total of 975 ward candidates will contest as independents, compared with approximately 400 in 2021.
The fifth factor is economic proximity. Municipalities will oversee procurement valued at more than R500 billion over the next five years. Councillors serve on tender committees, consider land use applications and participate in the allocation of opportunities under the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). Even where governance is sound, proximity to municipal decision making remains an incentive.
The final factor is service delivery failure itself. Where municipalities fail to provide water, electricity and sanitation, communities organise. Residents associations, civic movements and ratepayers groups that previously lobbied from outside now register as political parties. This is why municipalities such as Emfuleni Local Municipality with 43 parties and Polokwane Local Municipality with 40 parties reflect local grievance rather than national ideological competition.
This is where the introduction of coherent systems becomes essential. A 10 point plan applied as a standard system across all 257 municipalities and approximately 4044 wards would create a uniform benchmark for governance. It would set minimum requirements for water provision, electricity reliability, refuse collection, road maintenance, financial management and public accountability.
If 142072 people wish to be councillors, South Africa must raise the standard for selection and nomination. Parties should prioritise competence over loyalty, demonstrated community service over popularity, and ethical conduct over expediency. Vetting should include qualification checks, financial probity and a clear record of residence and participation in the ward concerned. The era of deploying candidates simply to fill lists must end.
Research from the Dullah Omar Institute indicates that councils with more than 15 parties represented are considerably more likely to experience coalition instability and difficulty in adopting budgets. Voters will face extended ballots, often comprising ward, proportional representation and district ballots.
At the same time the increase in participation signals a competitive and open local democracy. In 2000 only 16 parties contested local elections. In 2026, 546 will do so. The challenge on 4 November will be to ensure that from 142072 aspirants, the 10526 who are elected possess the skills and systems required to govern effectively.
Written by Dr Fumene George Tsibani (Water Governance and Programme Evaluation), University of Johannesburg. Writing in his personal capacity. – @NewsSA_Online
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