The Electoral Commission has received nominations from more than 140 000 candidates to contest 10 526 council seats in the 2026 local government elections, marking a 43% increase from the previous polls.

Commission chairperson Mosotho Moepya announced on Wednesday that 142 072 candidates had been nominated by the close of the statutory period at 17:00 on Friday, 28 August.

“The immediate task of the Electoral Commission is now to review the submissions for compliance with the legislative requirements governing candidate nominations,” Moepya told media in Pretoria.

Verification process underway

The commission will check whether candidates completed acceptance of nomination forms, whether political parties and independent candidates paid the applicable deposit, and whether independent candidates submitted the details of registered voters supporting their candidature.

The final list of candidates who meet all requirements will be published on 16 September 2026.

According to preliminary figures, 299 political parties and 127 independent candidates submitted nominations through the online system, while 205 political parties and 634 independent candidates submitted manually at commission offices.

Of the total nominations, 40 241 were for proportional representation seats, 100 856 were party candidates for ward seats, and 975 were independent candidates for ward seats.

Sharp increase from 2021

The 142 072 nominations represent a substantial jump from the 99 000 candidates who contested the 2021 local government elections.

The profile of nominated candidates is dominated by individuals aged between 36 and 55 years, who account for 58% of all candidates. The 41-45 year age group represents the highest concentration at 16%.

Men account for nearly two-thirds of all nominations, while women’s representation stands at 38%. On proportional representation lists, men make up 56% compared with 44% for women. In ward elections, 65% of candidates are male and 35% are female.

Metropolitan hotspots

The City of Johannesburg has the highest number of proportional representation contestants with 80 parties, followed by the City of Tshwane with 72 parties, eThekwini with 70 parties, Ekurhuleni with 69 parties and the City of Cape Town with 55 parties.

The commission said 2 274 candidate names were captured but not finally submitted on the online system by the deadline. These included 480 potential proportional representation candidates and 1 794 potential ward candidates linked to 45 political parties.

“The commission’s position is that, in practical terms, these potential candidates have not been submitted to the commission and therefore are not in contention for this election,” Moepya said.

Political party participation

Of the 345 political parties registered at national level, 227 have nominated candidates, representing 66%. At provincial level, 33 of 36 registered parties are contesting, representing 92%.

At metropolitan level, 49 of 61 registered parties submitted nominations, representing 80%. At district level, 237 of 290 registered parties are contesting, representing 82%.

Moepya reminded nominated candidates of their legal obligation to uphold the Electoral Code of Conduct as the commission works to finalise the candidate lists.

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