South Africa votes in the Local Government Elections on Wednesday, 4 November 2026. If you think one vote cannot change anything, look at the last round of results: wards have been won by a few hundred votes, sometimes fewer. In a contest that close, a single street — a single mosque congregation — can decide who runs your ward.
Why This One Matters
Local government is the sphere closest to your daily life. It is water and refuse, roads and streetlights, clinics and the state of your neighbourhood. These are not distant national questions — they are the things you notice on the way to work. Your vote on Wednesday is your voice in exactly those things, for the next five years.
What You Need to Know
- When: Wednesday 4 November, polls open 07:00 to 21:00. If you are in the queue by 21:00, you may vote.
- Where: at the voting station where you are registered. Check your station on the IEC website or app, or by SMS, before the day.
- What to bring: your green bar-coded ID book, your smart ID card, or a valid temporary identity certificate. No ID, no vote — so check the day before, and again before you leave for the voting station.
SAMNET does not tell anyone who to vote for. We ask only two things: that you vote, and that you know who is standing in your ward, and what their values and skills are, before you do. An informed vote is worth more than an angry one.
Take someone with you — a neighbour, a parent, a first-time voter. Turnout is simply the sum of people who decided it was worth the twenty minutes. On Wednesday, be one of them.
Shared by the South African Muslim Network (SAMNET) in the interest of increased awareness and participation in our elections.