OPINION| 6 ways to separate 2026 serious contenders from opportunists

South Africa heads to the 4 November local government elections with the highest record number of political parties on the ballot.

Voters need a sharper test than loyalty or novelty.

By Dr Tendai Shephard Mbanje On 4 November, South Africans will vote in local government elections.

According to the Electoral Commission (IEC), 546 political parties will contest this year’s municipal polls, up from 325 in 2021, with more than 137,000 candidates vying for just over 10,500 council seats.

Supporters of this development call it a sign of a maturing democracy.

It is partly that.

But a crowded and busy ballot paper is also a symptom: of a collapse of trust in the established parties, of politics treated as a career rather than a calling, and of a council system in which a single seat can unlock a mayoral chain and the tenders that come with it.

Understanding why there are so many parties is the first step towards choosing wisely among them.

A trust deficit meets a constitutional right The landscape that produced this ballot shifted well before campaigning began.

In 2021, turnout in local elections fell to a record low of about 46%, and more than 60 councils were left hung.

In the 2024 national election, the ANC’s support fell to about 40%, ending three decades of outright majority rule and giving way to the Government of National Unity.

Fifty-two parties appeared on that national ballot and 18 now sit in Parliament.

The message from voters was clear: the old order no longer commands automatic loyalty.

Into that space have stepped hundreds of new formations, and they are entitled to.