#local elections 2026
10 stories
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Cosatu breaks with ANC for left-wing pact
Cosatu president Mike Shingange calls for unity with ANC and SACP after breaking exclusive support.
Daily Maverick · 1m
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ANC faces voter anger over services in Ekurhuleni
Deputy President Mashatile campaigns in Vosloorus as residents demand the party fix corruption, unemployment and failing municipal services before they vote again.
Daily Maverick · 3m
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South Africa's fractured politics finds no dominant voice
Three weeks before local elections, no single narrative dominates national debate as society splinters into separate conversations.
Daily Maverick · 2m
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Mnguni's Johannesburg: one city, not fragments
Rise Mzansi's mayoral candidate pitches a Johannesburg where services and safety reach every neighbourhood, not just the wealthy ones.
Daily Maverick · 2m
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Vote for the psychopath, Joburg needs it
Anton Harber argues Johannesburg's next mayor needs ruthlessness and manipulation to fix a broken city.
Daily Maverick · 1m
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High court orders ANC to reinstate Lungisa
A judge rules the ANC unlawfully removed mayoral candidate Andile Lungisa from its Nelson Mandela Bay list weeks before elections.
Daily Maverick · 1m
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Malema promises Nelson Mandela Bay free utilities and bigger houses
The EFF leader pledges free water and electricity, larger RDP homes and increased grants, but offers no funding plan for promises beyond local government's powers.
Daily Maverick · 3m
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Local elections will show how far the ANC has fallen
South Africa's 2026 local elections will reveal the ANC's rate of decline and reshape the political landscape ahead of 2029.
Daily Maverick · 3m
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Your vote shapes the next five years
Alan Winde argues that November's local elections will determine whether South African towns get basic services or descend into chaos.
Daily Maverick · 1m
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Knysna arrests deepen municipal crisis
Former mayor, acting manager and CFO arrested over alleged kickbacks linked to a security contract as the municipality faces killings, leadership battles and an SIU probe.
Daily Maverick · 2m