Ramaphosa declares November 4 a public holiday for 2026 local elections

President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared Wednesday, November 4, 2026, a national public holiday to coincide with the local government elections, the Government Gazette shows.

Why the extra public holiday

The declaration links the additional day off directly to the local government elections and is intended to allow South Africans to participate in the vote. The proclamation was made under Section 2A of the Public Holidays Act, which gives the president the power to declare a specific day a public holiday by notice in the Government Gazette.

How the date was set

Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa had earlier published the election date in August by way of gazetting and proclamation. President Ramaphosa had announced in April that the municipal elections would be held on November 4 following discussions at the Extended Presidential Co-ordinating Council meeting.

Election contest grows

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has reported a marked increase in candidate participation ahead of the November 4 vote.

• The IEC recorded 142,072 candidate nominations to contest 10,526 councillor seats.
• This compares with 99,000 nominations filed for the 2021 local government elections a rise the IEC described as about 43%.

Nomination details and scrutiny

The candidate nomination period closed at 5pm on August 28. The IEC said nominations were submitted both through its online system and manually at its offices.

• 299 political parties and 127 independent candidates submitted nominations through the Online Candidate Nomination System.
• 205 political parties and 634 independent candidates submitted nominations manually through IEC offices.
• Political parties nominated 40,241 candidates for proportional representation (PR) seats and 100,856 candidates for ward seats.
• 975 independent candidates were nominated to contest ward seats.

The IEC will now scrutinise the submitted nominations to check that acceptance-of-nomination forms are completed, applicable deposits have been paid and that independent candidates have submitted details of registered voters supporting their candidature.

Disputes and legal action

The declaration of the public holiday comes as political parties, including the ANC, approach the Electoral Court. They argue that technical glitches within the IEC’s online system prevented them from receiving submission confirmation slips, making their candidate entries appear late.

What officials have said

“To put the scale of participation into perspective, 99,000 nominations to contest the 2021 local government elections were filed. Therefore, 142,072 nominations received for the 2026 elections represents an increase of approximately 43% compared with the 2021 elections.”

IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya

The public holiday declaration formally completes the legislative step linking the election date and a national day off.