Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
sy mamabololatest news & developments
IEC chief executive, Sy Mamabolo. (IEC/X)
DEPARTMENT OF HOME AFFAIRS

376 000 new voters register via online portal, says electoral commission

The IEC launched “Beats for My Peeps” election edutainment programme which will air on SABC1 on 3 June at 18:00 to encourage youth voter participation

  • Nkateko Joseph Mabasa
4 min read
Royal stamp: As part of its KwaZulu-Natal outreach before the local government elections, the Electoral Commission of South Africa official also engaged King Misuzulu kaZwelithini. Photos: IEC
ELECTORAL INTEGRITY

Democracy doubts deepen in KZN

Support for democracy in KwaZulu-Natal has fallen to its lowest levels in decades, with trust in government and institutions collapsing. Yet, most residents say they would vote…

  • Lyse Comins
7 min read
Voter education, combined with democratic civic education, must be compulsory at all levels of education, from nursery school to higher education. Photo:Delwyn Verasamy
ELECTION DATE

IEC calls for early election date announcement

The IEC has set 20 and 21 June 2026 as a national voter registration weekend and urges an early election date announcement to ensure voters can register correctly

  • Mandisa Makgakga
3 min read
The elections announced for 4 November will have a consequential impact on our body politic as municipal polls often project how national elections will turn out. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
2026 ELECTIONS

Electoral Commission of South Africa sets out 2026/27 local election schedule

Chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo urged Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa to announce the election date ahead of proclamation

  • Nkateko Joseph Mabasa
3 min read
The MK Party says it will oppose the Gauteng provincial budget after the ANC snubbed its requests on KwaZulu-Natal
BARNABAS XULU

MK party claims computer expert is the subject of another ‘politically motivated attack’

The party says the alleged harassment of Vusi Mhlongo caused delays in it filing court papers in its electoral case

  • Paddy Harper
6 min read
The MK party, led by former president Jacob Zuma, believes it was robbed in the 29 May elections, and attempted to halt the declaration of the result as free and fair on 31 May. Photo by Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)
29 MAY ELECTIONS DISPUTE

IEC seeks dismissal of ‘vexatious’ MK party challenge to May election outcome

The electoral body says the court must first rule on outstanding issues relating to the case that Jacob Zuma’s party withdrew

  • Paddy Harper
3 min read
The MK Party has reinstated its electoral court challenge to the outcome of the 29 May national and provincial elections and has asked it to order a rerun of the poll. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
ANC

MK Party reinstates challenge to the outcome of the 29 May elections

The party wants the results set aside and a fresh poll to be held

  • Paddy Harper
5 min read
In KwaZulu-Natal, the votes of next week’s by-election will be a test of whether the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party is able to consolidate — at local government level — the electoral gains made on 29 May, when it took 45% of the vote in the province. (Leon Sadiki/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
BARNABAS XULU

Electoral court to hear MK party’s election challenge on 29 July

The IEC set a hearing date despite the party’s bid to temporarily withdraw the case

  • Emsie Ferreira
4 min read
MK Party leader Jacob Zuma. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
2024 ELECTIONS

MK’s court challenge is public incitement, says IEC

The party’s failure to provide evidence of election fraud suggests it went to court with the aim of ‘inflaming the passions of the public’, the commission argues

  • Emsie Ferreira
8 min read
The IEC is expecting a higher voter turnout than the 2019 elections. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
2024 ELECTIONS

Expected high voter turnout a nod to political parties, says IEC

The disillusionment in the country’s political system resulting in low 2021 local election turnout numbers has seemingly dissipated

  • Khaya Koko
4 min read
Chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo. Photo by OJ Koloti/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
2024 ELECTIONS

Mamabolo: There is an effort to undermine the outcome of the elections

The head of the Electoral Commission of South Africa said that two people were arrested for interfering with election processes

  • Mandisa Makgakga
2 min read
Chief electoral officer of the Electoral Commission of South Africa, Sy Mamabolo. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
EASTERN CAPE VOTERS

70 political parties likely to contest national elections, says IEC

Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape account for most of the voters in the country

  • Lunga Mzangwe
5 min read
South Africa’s youth are not apathetic but they don’t feel connected to the government and political parties and they don’t trust politicians. (David Harrison/M&G)
2024 ELECTIONS

IEC: More than 560 000 people register as first-time voters

The Electoral Commission of South Africa said Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape saw the highest number of voter registrations

  • Mandisa Makgakga
3 min read
(Photo by Darren Stewart/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
ELECTORAL COMMISSION OF SOUTH AFRICA

IEC launches voter registration, surpasses its previous highest record of daily activity

South Africans will vote in national and provincial elections on a date yet to be set, between May and August 2024

  • Umamah Bakharia
3 min read
Photo: GCIS
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

IEC waiting for Ramaphosa to decide on election date

Chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo said he had discussed setting a date between May and August with the president

  • Mandisa Makgakga
3 min read
(Photo: Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
ANC

IEC can’t investigate political parties that do not declare funding – until you complain

Only two political parties made funding declarations this past quarter, spurring calls for a relook at the Political Party Funding Act

  • Sonri Naidoo
3 min read
IEC results operation centre. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
CYRIL RAMAPHOSA

Independent candidates in municipal elections gain momentum with 0.61% growth

The political sands are shifting, says Mmusi Maimane

  • Eyaaz Matwadia
2 min read
An electoral commission official sits next to ballot boxes at the Barbaro Park high school in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, on November 1, 2021, during South Africa’s local elections. (Photo by Michele Spatari / AFP)
ANC

Poll day: The Great Stayaway

Only a few people have chosen who will govern South Africa’s municipalities

  • Luke Feltham
  • M&G Data Desk
6 min read
President Cyril Ramaphosa. (Photo by Michele Spatari/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
ACCOUNTABILITY

Ramaphosa urges political leaders to work together as coalition talks begin

Of South Africa’s 213 municipalities, the ANC attained a majority in 161. Meanwhile, there are 66 hung councils that will need to be governed through coalitions

  • Eunice Masson
3 min read
Leading the pack in vote counting is the Northern Cape, where 89% of the province’s results have been completed. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
COUNCIL FOR SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH

LGE 2021: IEC making strides in reaching target of 90% counted ballots

Northern Cape leads in the vote counting with 89% of its results already completed

  • Eunice Masson
2 min read