Poor basic services, unemployment and crime are shaping voter sentiment ahead of South Africa’s local government elections scheduled for Nov. 4, with residents in several communities expressing growing frustration over conditions in their neighbourhoods.
In Khayelitsha, a township in Cape Town, 53-year-old Ntombekhaya Makeleni said she had stopped using communal toilets after men allegedly tried to force their way in while she was inside before dawn. She now relies on a bucket, a practice shared by other residents in the informal settlement, where access to adequate sanitation remains limited.
Makeleni told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that she intended to vote because she hoped the election would bring improvements to local services. Her experience reflects the concerns of residents who say persistent failures in water supply, sanitation, electricity and infrastructure have affected their daily lives.
In Durban, 27-year-old Nikesh Nunkoo said water cuts in his Shallcross neighbourhood sometimes lasted between three days and two weeks. Having voted in three previous elections, he said he was uncertain whether to participate this time because he had little confidence that conditions would improve.
Another Durban resident, 24-year-old Nkanyiso Hadebe, said he would not vote, arguing that elections had not brought meaningful change to his community.
More than 29 million people are registered to vote in the elections, which will test public confidence in municipal administrations and the ability of political parties to respond to local concerns.
South Africa’s political landscape has become increasingly fragmented. More than 500 political parties are registered for the polls, while the African National Congress (ANC), which governed the country with a parliamentary majority for three decades, lost that majority in the 2024 national elections. It had also fallen below 50 per cent of the vote in the 2021 local government elections.
A survey published by Ipsos on Friday, Oct. 30, found that 53 per cent of South Africans eligible to vote said no political party represented their views. Among registered voters, 50 per cent expressed the same sentiment. The survey involved 3,600 respondents, with fieldwork conducted between Sept. 12 and Oct. 13, 2026.
The study also found that 68 per cent of registered voters believed politicians could not be trusted, while only 15 per cent disagreed. Although 62 per cent said they looked forward to voting, Ipsos cautioned that stated intentions might not translate into actual turnout.
Political commentator Kuhle Zwakala of Stellenbosch University told AFP that residents, particularly in townships, were demanding basic services rather than elaborate promises.
Oscar van Heerden, a senior research fellow at the Centre for African Diplomacy and Leadership, said political identity and historical loyalties would also influence voting decisions, with some communities maintaining support for parties associated with their political histories.
Voter turnout is expected to be a major factor. Only 46 per cent of registered voters participated in the 2021 local government elections, compared with 58.6 per cent in the 2024 national and provincial elections.
The upcoming polls are also expected to test coalition governance. Research by the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection indicated that, by February 2026, 74 of South Africa’s 257 municipalities were governed by coalition or minority administrations.
The results will offer an indication of how voters are responding to municipal service delivery, political fragmentation and coalition arrangements, while providing an early measure of the political climate ahead of the 2029 general elections.
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