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The IEC will officially launch the 2026 LGE Campaign.
The Electoral Commission (IEC) says rebuilding public trust in electoral democracy is an urgent priority ahead of this year’s local government elections, prompting an extensive outreach drive in KwaZulu-Natal.
The move follows a Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) survey that recorded a significant drop in support for democracy nationally.
KwaZulu-Natal showed the sharpest decline, falling from 65 percent in 2015 to 43 percent currently.
The commission launched its formal communication campaign for the elections on Wednesday morning.
IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo said the data pointed to a growing disengagement from the country’s democratic processes.
“Some of them are already withdrawing from the democratic project of the country, which is why the IEC has spent an inordinate amount of time in KZN in particular — to meet with all political parties, certainly those in the legislature, to meet with the King, to meet with the amaKhosi, to meet with civil society, with churches and other religious bodies — really to try and change that trajectory, to get people to understand that local government matters, and to the extent that it matters, to get people to exercise their political rights and hopefully, by so doing, change the performance of local government,” Mamabolo said.
LGE 2026 | In conversation with IEC chairperson
The Electoral Commission has outlined what it needs to do to retain the trust of South Africans, as it prepares to launch its 2026 Local Government Elections communications campaign in Midrand, Johannesburg.
Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo said the commission must be seen as credible, and that disinformation posed a direct threat to public confidence in electoral institutions.
“We need to meet the constitutional standards, the expectations of the Constitution, as we navigate the implementation of the mandate, but we also have to deal with disinformation because public trust is abating because of misinformation in the electoral landscape. So if you don’t deal with disinformation and misinformation, it eats away at the level of trust that people have in the institutions. And we have to implement the electoral law without favour and prejudice,” Mamabolo said.
The commission’s KwaZulu-Natal visit last month included engagements with political parties, traditional leaders, civil society organisations, and religious bodies.
LGE 2026 | Local Government Elections launch:
