The Electoral
Commission welcomes stakeholders’ strong commitment in KwaZulu-Natal to
strengthen electoral democracy, enhance voter participation, and ensure
peaceful elections ahead of the forthcoming Local Government Elections.
This collective commitment follows the successful conclusion of a
week-long stakeholder engagement programme held in the province from Monday, 20
April to today. This engagement forms a critical part of our preparations for
the upcoming elections.
The Commission is
particularly pleased with the outcome of its engagement with His Majesty King
Misuzulu kaZwelithini and the commitment by His Majesty
to fully support the work of the Commission. Our engagement with His
Majesty concluded with His Majesty making a strong pledge to encourage voter
registration and participation in the upcoming elections in a peaceful,
respectful and responsible manner.
The visit to the KZN province responds directly to the findings of the
2026 Human Sciences Research Council’s Voter Participation Survey (VPS), which
provides us with an important barometer of public sentiment ahead of elections.
This yardstick of public sentiment captures the national picture whilst
disaggregating provincial data.
In KwaZulu-Natal, the findings paint a sobering picture. Support for
democracy is no longer held by most citizens in the province. The study
highlights declining trust in key political institutions, growing political
disengagement, and rising voter disillusionment. KZN is among the provinces
recording the sharpest decline in confidence in democracy. These trends
underscore why the Commission’s presence in the province this week has been
both necessary and urgent.
Some of the
highlights of the study are as follows:
The study reveals
deepening dissatisfaction and declining confidence in democracy in
KwaZulu-Natal, with satisfaction dropping sharply from 54% in 2004 to just 6%
in 2025, compared to a national decline from 65% in the 2000s to 36%. While
most adults continue to support democratic values, many feel that democracy is
not working well in practice.
Economic dissatisfaction is very high in the province, with 88% unhappy
about current conditions. The same proportion expect the economy to worsen in
the next five years. 60% say life in their communities has worsened over the
last five years.
Trust levels in the Electoral Commission have not been spared. On this
metric, it is lowest in KwaZulu-Natal at 20%. The national average being 32%.
There is a clear electoral divide with persons who voted in elections assessing
the Electoral Commission more favorable than those who did not vote.
Happily, all is not
lost. Positively, 76% of adults in KwaZulu-Natal indicated an intention to vote
in 2025 if an election was held imminently. This is higher than the national
average. A whopping 69% of respondents still believe that it is a civic duty of
citizens to vote.
Recognising that the
forthcoming Local Government Elections will be highly contested, efforts to
improve voter turnout must address widespread public disillusionment, declining
trust in institutions, and concerns about electoral integrity. Strengthening
confidence in the Electoral Commission through consistent, transparent
performance, while enhancing clear and proactive communication, particularly
through the media can help counter negative perceptions, address fears of
irregularities, and reinforce the importance of active and peaceful citizen
participation.
The Commission’s visit to the province was to listen, to engage, and to
work collaboratively with stakeholders to rebuild trust, strengthen
participation, and ensure a conducive environment for free and fair elections.
Key activities and outcomes of the week
As part of its week-long programme in KwaZulu-Natal, the Electoral
Commission engaged a broad range of stakeholders across government, political
parties, traditional leadership, civil society, and security structures.
The Commission’s
engagement with the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal reinforced strong
intergovernmental cooperation with a clear commitment to support voter
education, deepen collaboration and jointly strengthen public confidence in the
electoral process.
Consultations were also
held with political parties in the province, including the Inkatha Freedom
Party (IFP), the National Freedom Party (NFP), the African National Congress
(ANC), and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). Meetings with the Democratic
Alliance (DA) and Umkhonto We Sizwe Party (MKP) are being rearranged to more
suitable dates.
These engagements reaffirmed the importance of collaboration in
strengthening electoral integrity, enhancing voter education, and building
public confidence. Stakeholders raised concerns regarding electoral operations,
fairness, misinformation, and barriers to participation, particularly in rural
and marginalised communities. The yet to be finalized demarcation process in
the four municipalities in the province was raised as a hindrance to proper
preparation. The affected municipalities in this regard include eThekweni,
Inkosi Langalibalele, Alfred Duma and uMkhambathini.
The Commission also welcomed assurances from the security cluster on
security readiness and their commitment to ensuring a safe and peaceful
electoral environment. This also entails preparedness for investigation
capacity to deal with election cases reported to the SAPS and ability to
prosecute those cases.
The multi-stakeholder engagement with civil society was constructive and
impactful. This interaction strengthened collaboration in support of credible
and inclusive election.
Engagements with the KwaZulu-Natal Church Leaders Group and the
KwaZulu-Natal Christian Council reinforced the role of faith leaders in
promoting social cohesion, ethical leadership, and peaceful elections.
Overall and across all engagements,
several key themes emerged, and the salient aspects are as follows:
- The urgent need to rebuild public trust in democratic institutions
in the province.
- A
collaborative approach to intensifying and targeting voter education,
particularly among young people.
- The need to combat misinformation and strengthen communication
efforts.
- A shared commitment to peaceful, credible, and inclusive elections.
On its part the Commission reassured stakeholders that challenges
experienced in the 2024 elections have or are in the process of being remedied.
The Commission has taken concrete steps to address concerns
arising from the 2024 elections, including measures to reduce long queues,
improvements to the Voters’ Roll App and the results leaderboard in the results
centres, and subjecting the Voter Management Device to rigorous stress testing
and independent audit to ensure its reliability and integrity.
KZN LGE 2026/27 Readiness
The Commission is
pleased with the progress made in preparations for the forthcoming Local
Government Elections in KwaZulu-Natal. In respect of the appointment of
electoral staff, nine thousand two hundred and sixty-eight (9 268) of
the nine thousand nine hundred and forty-eight (9 948) total vacancies have
been filled, representing ninety-three percent (93%) progress, with six
hundred and eighty (680) positions still outstanding. Training
programmes for appointed staff have already commenced to ensure full
operational readiness ahead of registration weekend, with a focus on
efficiency, compliance, and service mindedness at voting stations.
Following the handover of final wards to the Commission by the Municipal
Demarcation Board (MDB) in December 2025, the realignment of the voting
district (VD) boundaries to the new ward boundaries commenced in January and
has been concluded in 40 out of 44 municipalities. A total of 424
out of 901 wards in the province were impacted by ward boundary changes,
which affected 606 VD boundaries across the province. The assessment of
the impact of ward boundary changes on VD boundaries in the 4 outstanding
municipalities will commence once the final wards are received from the MDB.
Plans are afoot for the rollout of targeted communication and registration
(TCR) to reregister voters affected by ward and thus VD boundary changes. TCR
will be administered from 9 – 11 May 2026 in the 40 municipalities where
the ward/VD boundary alignment project has been completed.
The School Democracy
Focus Week (20–30 April 2026) is underway, with ninety-eight (98)
schools already visited to promote electoral democracy and civic awareness
among learners.
Of the five hundred and
twenty (520) registered political parties nationally, fifteen (15)
are operational in KwaZulu-Natal, reflecting a diverse and active political
landscape. This signifies a highly competitive political environment which will
find expression in the political campaigns that will underpin the forthcoming
elections:
|
Registration level
|
Numbers
|
|
Provincial
|
4
|
|
District
|
9
|
|
Metro
|
2
|
The Commission
encourages all South Africans to make use of the online self-service
registration platform to register to vote and to update their details. Where
the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) process may have affected ward
boundaries, it is especially important for voters to verify and, where
necessary, update their registration information.
While a voter
registration weekend is scheduled for 20–21 June, this does not limit or
replace the convenience of registering online at any time. Importantly, in the
upcoming elections, voters must ensure that they are registered where they
live, as they will vote in the ward where they are registered.
Get up. Show up. Vote.
ISSUED
BY THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION
Ensuring
free, fair and credible elections
For media queries: Please contact Kate Bapela
on 082 600 6386
For media interviews: Email requests to [email protected]
Also reach the IEC on: