4 November Declared Public Holiday for Local Government Elections
President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared Wednesday, 4 November 2026, a public holiday to allow South Africans to participate in the local government elections.
The declaration follows Ramaphosa’s announcement in April that the elections would be held on 4 November. Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa subsequently formally proclaimed the election date.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has recorded more than 142,000 candidates contesting 10,526 council seats in the 2026 local government elections. This represents an increase of about 43% compared with the number of candidates in the 2021 elections.
Special voting is scheduled for 2 and 3 November, ahead of the main election on 4 November.
Election day is traditionally declared a public holiday to give voters an opportunity to cast their ballots.
