Zille slams Joburg’s scandalous service failures as IEC rallies voters
· Citizen
With just over 90 days before the local government elections in November, DA mayoral candidate Helen Zille has used the final voter registration weekend to make service delivery a key issue for voters in the city of Johannesburg.
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Zille was speaking during the Rietvlei Park Run in the south of Johannesburg on Saturday, 1 August 2026.
Joburg
Zille said the party’s focus will be on clean governance and restoring basic services, including water, electricity, and roads.
“If we are going to be number one, is that we won’t steal. We will have honest government, and we will make sure that every cent of ratepayers’ money is used for the things ratepayers want, like basic services.
“Most important one is water. Many people get water very rarely and intermittently in Joburg, and that is a scandal. Electricity, same story; roads are completely destroyed, as you’ve seen yourself from driving around. Those basics, people should be able to take for granted in a city, and that is what we will try and focus on relentlessly: basic services. Get Joe Burg working,” Zille said.
Register to vote
Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has urged all eligible South Africans to register to vote.
This is the final voter registration weekend ahead of the November 4th polls.
All registration stations will be open until 5pm on Saturday. Over three million registrations were recorded during the first voter registration of the weekend.
Voting stations
IEC Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mambolo said the commencement of the final voter registration weekend brings the country closer to the conclusion of voting station-based registration ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections.
“The Electoral Commission reports that the final voter registration weekend has commenced on a strong footing, with more than 99% of the 23 699 voting stations across the country opening promptly at 08h00.”
Registrations
Mamabolo said that by midday it had already processed more than 238 000 voter transactions across the country, with the majority involving citizens updating their registration details ahead of the upcoming Local Government Elections.
He said the new registrations accounted for 13.4% – about 30 000 voters.
Mamabolo said the turnout reflected strong public engagement.
“We are encouraged by the positive response from citizens who are ensuring that they are correctly registered. This demonstrates a growing commitment to participate in shaping local governance.”
“Of the total, 198 232 transactions were recorded at voting stations, while 20 078 were completed online via the Commission’s data‑free registration portal. Mamabolo noted that the online channel provided “an additional convenient option for eligible voters to register or update their details,” Mamabolo said.
Provincial breakdown
According to the IEC, preliminary figures show the highest activity in KwaZulu‑Natal (55 759), Eastern Cape (46 889), and Gauteng (41 774), consistent with historical patterns and provincial population densities.
Other provinces also recorded significant volumes, including Limpopo (29 680), Western Cape (19 693), Mpumalanga (17 218), North West (15 610), Free State (13 110), and Northern Cape (6 213).
70 million ballot papers
Mamabolo said once the final voter registration weekend has concluded, the IEC said it anticipates that the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) will proclaim the date of the 2026 Local Government Elections.
“The proclamation sets in motion a number of important processes. Firstly, the commission will have to publicise an election timetable. The timetable sets out cut-off times and dates for the performance of certain election functions, such as the publication of lists of voting stations, the publication of the inspection voters’ roll, and the cut-off date for candidate nomination.
“Once those processes are complied with, then we go into the ballot production phase. We anticipate printing in the region of over 70 million ballot papers in a three-week window period. So, it’s a complex logistical exercise which must be approached with proper diligence, Mamabola said.
Online voter registration
Mamabolo said the Commission is encouraged by the growing use of the online voter registration portal.
He cautioned, however, that “users may experience delayed responses owing to volumes on the free data facility.” Mamabolo urged voters making use of the free data option to try again later in the day or visit their local voting station to complete registration.