Are you ready for the 2016 Municipal Elections?
Municipal elections are held every five years to elect councillors who will be responsible for governing a municipality for the next five years. The current term of office of municipal councils ends on 18 May 2016.
The councillors will serve on the town, city, metropolitan or district councils that ensure services that impact the daily lives of citizens in their areas including water, electricity and sanitation.
In terms of the Constitution the election must be held between 18 May and 16 August 2016. So get ready to have your say in the 2016 Municipal Elections. Your vote is your voice, use it wisely.
President Jacob Zuma has declared 3 August 2016, the date of the 2016 Municipal Elections, a public holiday.
Local government in South Africa is made up of municipalities which are run by councils.
There are currently three kinds of municipalities:
- metropolitan municipalities which are big cities
- local municipalities which are towns and their surrounding rural areas
- district municipalities which coordinate a number of local municipalities in a region
The largest metropolitan areas are governed by metropolitan municipalities, while the rest of the country is divided into district municipalities, each of which consists of several local municipalities. South Africa’s local government is currently made up of eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district municipalities, and 207 local municipalities.
Special votes
Applications for special votes for the 2016 Municipal Elections will open on Friday 10 June 2016 and close on Friday 8 July 2016, as specified in the official election timetable. You can apply for a special vote:
- Online - click here to apply
- Via SMS - SMS your ID Number to 32249 (R1.00 per SMS). Note this option applies only to voting station special vote
- At your local IEC office by submitting a MEC35 form. Forms can only be hand-delivered, but someone else can deliver your completed form on your behalf (Download MEC35 form)
- Via the Official IEC Election application. Download it from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store
You will receive an SMS notifying you of the outcome once your application has been processed, but you can also check the status of your special vote application online.
Visit our Special votes page for more information.
Use our voting station finder to find your voting station. Find out more about the elections.
Follow the conversation on social media: #2016LocalElections
Contact details
Call: 0800 11 8000
Email: info@elections.org.za
The contact centre is open Monday to Friday, from 7h00 to 21h00.
Government speeches, statements and advisories: