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The scale of it
257Municipalities
4,488Wards
~29mRegistered voters
How to read this
Everything in a party's plan is a plain-language summary of what that party says, taken from its manifesto launch or its public campaign statements. It is not a fact-check, a rating, or an endorsement. Where a party hasn't published a 2026 municipal manifesto yet, the page says so rather than guessing — check back as launches happen.
Manifesto launch dates
EFF — 25 July 2026, Thohoyandou. DA — 8 August 2026, Newtown, Johannesburg. ANC — 23 August 2026, Diepsloot, Johannesburg. MK Party, IFP, PA and FF+ have not announced launch dates.
Mayoral candidates
"Confirmed" means the party has formally announced the person. "Reported" means credible reporting names them but the party hasn't announced — this covers most ANC candidates, since the ANC only names its slate at its 23 August launch. Compiled from Business Day ↗, The Citizen ↗ and TimesLIVE ↗. Remember South Africans don't vote for a mayor directly — you vote for a ward councillor and a party, and the new council elects the mayor.
Candidate bios
Ages appear only where a date of birth was confirmed against a reliable source — six of the twenty-nine candidates at the time of writing. Everyone else shows "Not verified" rather than an estimate, because a wrong age on a voter information site is worse than a blank one. Gender is shown only where reporting makes it explicit. Bios are drawn from parliamentary records, party announcements and news reporting.
Reading the documents yourself
Where a party has published a manifesto, its plan links straight to it. The DA's is a 2.5 MB PDF — worth knowing if you're on mobile data. Independent analysis of the manifestos is being published by Daily Maverick's Manifesto Test series ↗, which checks promises against each party's actual record in government.
Photographs
Leader portraits are added by the site owner from sources licensed for reuse — Wikimedia Commons ↗ and GroundUp Images ↗. Photographer and licence are credited under each party's plan.
Sources
Party manifesto launches and campaign statements as reported by SAnews, the IEC, EWN, News24, Daily Maverick, Business Day, TimesLIVE, The Citizen, SABC News and the parties' own websites, August 2026. Links appear inside each party's plan.
Independent civic explainer. Not affiliated with the IEC or any political party. Party colours are approximate brand colours, used for recognition only. Election date proclaimed by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs on 7 August 2026.