Armed with handheld barcode scanners, stricter station rules and better-trained staff, the IEC reported rapid turnaround times as more than 12 million citizens cast their ballots by late afternoon. But some voters reported long distances and up to two-and-a-half hours' wait.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) had declared a "war on queues" for the 2026 local government elections. It meant a quicker voting turnaround for many on Wednesday, 4 November.
According to the IEC, more than 29.2 million eligible voters registered to vote across 23,696 voting stations nationwide and, by 10am, 3.5 million had already voted. The IEC introduced stricter voting protocols, mandating that voters could vote only at the station where they were registered. Data from the IEC confirmed that fewer than 1% of voting stations opened late, with stormy weather affecting most of those.
IEC Chief Executive Officer Sy Mamabolo said the commission had trained its volunteers and supplied them with new equipment, including handheld barcode scanners and sequence numbers to ensure that voters would be processed quickly.
"This work you see unfold today is a culmination of efforts of many good men and women over the past few years, at least. We have a war on queues today. We have ensured that we train up and ... the equipment we use will facilitate the management of queues," he said during a site visit to Hyde Park High School in Johannesburg, minutes before President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived to...
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