Elections
ActionSA wants a re-run after 215 extra ballots surfaced at Malatjie
Every voter knows the quiet pride of folding a ballot and slipping it into the box. So when the numbers at a voting station stop adding up, people notice Joburg Etc reports.
That’s the situation ActionSA says it found at MP Malatjie Primary School, where the party is now calling for the election to be run again. The statement is dated 5 November 2026, one day after the local government elections.
[PRESS STATEMENT] ACTIONSA CALLS FOR ELECTION RE-RUN AFTER 215 EXTRA BALLOTS WERE FOUND AT MP
MALATJIE https://t.co/EYdFhQp26TActionSA Limpopo (@ActionSA_LP) November 6, 2026
The numbers that don’t match
ActionSA says its party agents counted 1,315 votes at the station. The voters’ roll, however, shows only 1,100 ballots were handed out. That leaves a gap of 215 ballots that nobody has yet explained.
The party argues this gap raises serious questions about the integrity of the process and the accountability of the officials running it.
A sealed box and no one watching
The numbers aren’t the only thing bothering ActionSA. The party also points to a sealed box of ballot papers that reportedly arrived at the voting station with no police officers or accredited observers present.
Those safeguards exist for exactly this reason. They give every party, and every voter, confidence that what goes into a box is what comes out of it.
‘Not just us’
ActionSA says it wasn’t the only party raising its hand. Agents from the EFF, Mayibuye and the SACP reportedly also disputed the validity of the ballots.
According to the party, IEC officials pushed ahead with the count anyway, backed by ANC party agents. These are ActionSA’s claims, and we haven’t yet seen a response from the IEC or the ANC.
What ActionSA is asking for
The party has lodged a formal complaint and wants the IEC to explain the 215 disputed ballots, investigate how they came to be there, and act where irregularities are proven. It also wants the commission to enforce Section 65 of the Electoral Act 51 of 1996 and treat all parties equally.
One detail matters here. The call for a re-run is conditional. ActionSA says it should happen if the investigation finds the election was compromised to the point where the results can’t be trusted. In the party’s words, ‘A vote is the voice of the people.’
Why this one will be watched
Tension around ballots isn’t new this season. Just weeks before polling day, the IEC was scrambling to print 6.6 million extra ballot papers after a Constitutional Court ruling. That was a separate matter, but it shows how much scrutiny the process was already under. ewn
At a single voting station, 215 ballots is a lot. In a close ward, it could decide the outcome. That’s why, even before the IEC responds, this story is worth following. The next step is the IEC’s answer. Until then, voters at MP Malatjie are left waiting to hear whether their station’s result will stand.
