Politically Aweh’s Poll Dancing takes centre stage in Cape Town before local elections

{JSON.stringify(article.attachments[0], null, 2)} --> From campaign promises and online disinformation to the struggle to decide who to trust, South Africa’s local government elections are giving political satirists plenty to work with. Politically Aweh is bringing its mix of comedy and journalism to a live Cape Town audience, two weeks before voters head to the polls.

Water, electricity, waste collection and affordable housing: these are among the services residents expect from their local government. And yet, as South Africans prepare to vote on 4 November, these basic needs remain at the centre of political campaigns. For the team behind Politically Aweh, the gap between what politicians promise and what residents experience is fertile ground for satire.

On Wednesday, 21 October, the Safta-winning team will bring Poll Dancing to Cape Town’s Homecoming Centre for a live special combining stand-up comedy, sketches, interviews and journalism. The show aims to entertain audiences while giving them more to think about as they consider their choices at the ballot box.

Politically Aweh has been making sense of South African politics since launching its YouTube channel in 2017. Its first elections special, staged in front of a live studio audience in 2019, featured journalist and broadcaster Lester Kiewit, who has since become the team’s editorial producer.

For creative director Stephen Horn, the production draws on the different perspectives of the journalists and comedians who make up the team.

“Our strength is the diversity of voices in our writing room and the combined experience of our crew,” he says. “Making sense of the chaos together, and cry-laughing our way through it, is how we all stay sane. It’s a challenge we relish.”

The material for Poll Dancing will combine stories specific to the 2026 elections with wider questions about the health of South Africa’s democracy, including voter disengagement, trust in institutions and online disinformation.

“We’re a nonprofit media company, so our choices are guided by our editorial pillars of civic education, social and environmental justice, and accountability,” Horn says.

For KG Mokgadi, who will host the show, one of the defining features of this election cycle is the disconnect between what residents need and what political parties are promising.

“So, people are looking for the basics: they’re looking for affordable housing, they’re looking for water – water in Joburg, can you imagine? Water and electricity in Joburg, cleaner streets, garbage collection, easy transport and moving around – and yet politicians are campaigning like they’re discovering these problems for the first time,” he says.

Social media has added another dimension to the campaign trail, Mokgadi says, with viral videos and politicians’ behaviour online raising questions about how voters assess the people seeking their support.

For those who do not identify with a particular party, the choices can feel particularly difficult.

“The rest of us who are not card-carrying members of any political party are stranded! We really don’t know who to vote for,” he says.