JOHANNESBURG - More than 66% of the 79 million ballot papers required for the upcoming 4 November local government elections have been printed.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said it expects production to be completed by Sunday, 18 October 2026.
The printing process follows the ballot paper draw held on 23 September to determine the order of political parties and contestants on the ballot papers, and the certification of candidates on 25 September.
This is according to the commission's CEO, Sy Mamabolo, who gave an update on the preparations ahead of the elections and key updates on Special Votes applications.
READ | ANC takes 181 candidate battle to ConCourt
According to Mamabolo, the IEC has registered nearly 2.6 million special vote applications.
This, he said, is a 131% increase compared to the 1,147,759 applications approved for the comparable election in 2021.
The commission approved 678,525 applications for home visits, compared to 507,407 in 2021 — an increase of 33.7%.
KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest number of approved home-visit applications, with 143,714, Mamabolo said.
Meanwhile, 1,976,542 applications were approved for voting station-based special votes, compared to 602,850 in 2021.
This, according to Mamabolo, represents an increase of 227.9%.
He said Gauteng recorded the highest number of approved voting station-based applications, with 391,589.