Campaigning must end at midnight as IEC wraps up special voting - Moepya

All political campaigning must stop at midnight on Tuesday as South Africa heads into election day, Electoral Commission (IEC) Chairperson Mosotho Moepya has warned, as the Commission concluded two days of special voting that saw nearly 1.5 million voters cast their ballots.

Moepya, speaking at an IEC briefing on Tuesday night, said the Electoral Act imposes a strict blackout on any form of persuasion once the clock strikes twelve, with law enforcement on standby to act.

"Official election campaigning across South Africa must completely conclude at midnight tonight. Under section 98 of the Electoral Act, any form of political persuasion, rallies, or public campaigning is strictly prohibited on Voting Day," he said.

He emphasised that the blackout will be enforced from midnight until voting stations close on Wednesday, with zero tolerance for intimidation or canvassing near voting stations.

The warning came as Moepya announced that special voting for the 2026 Local Government Elections had concluded successfully, with 1,425,942 voters having voted between 2 and 3 November.

"A while ago, the Electoral Commission successfully concluded the two-day special voting, providing approximately 2.6 million approved voters who were otherwise unable to vote on Election Day with an opportunity to cast their votes in advance. Election staff successfully facilitated special voting at voting stations and through home visits," Moepya told the media on Tuesday.

"The Commission is pleased to report that at the time of closing, 1,425,942 voters had recorded as having voted between 2 and 3 November 2026."

Special voting, which ran from 8am to 5pm on both Monday and Tuesday, is an inclusivity mechanism for registered voters who cannot reach voting stations on Election Day due to physical infirmity, disability, or being away from their registered ward.

The Commission said 974,852 voters cast their votes at voting stations, while 451,090 were visited at home by election officials.

Gauteng recorded the highest special vote turnout with 264,898 voters, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 208,846 and Eastern Cape with 207,258. Limpopo had 180,627, Mpumalanga 149,714, Western Cape 148,493, North West 126,187, Free State 75,946 and Northern Cape 63,973.

Moepya stressed that these are preliminary figures which will be finalised on Tuesday night. He explained that special votes have been securely stored and will not be counted separately, but will be added to Wednesday's ballots.

"In terms of the law, the special votes have been securely stored and will be counted together with the 4 November 2026 Election Day ballots after closing of voting stations," he said.

"This means the voting station results will be tallied together with the rest of the results and announced as part of the overall election results per voting station."

The closing of special votes at 5pm on Tuesday means the first batch of results will start flowing from tomorrow night after voting stations close on Wednesday.

Moepya said the Commission was encouraged by the enthusiasm shown by voters during special voting, despite incidents of intimidation and disruption reported in some provinces.

At a briefing earlier on Tuesday, the Commission confirmed it is taking legal action against individuals and political parties implicated in intimidation, disruption and damage to election materials.

The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) has deployed heavily across all voting districts, warning that any attempts to influence, persuade or intimidate voters at polling stations on Wednesday will result in immediate criminal prosecution.

The Commission reminded voters of the essential operational rules for Election Day: from midnight, all marches and political picketing are banned. Voters are allowed to wear a single, standard party lapel badge or rosette, but apparel displaying a candidate's face, car flags and distribution of campaign flyers near polling areas are illegal.