What does it cost to run SA’s local government elections?

IEC ballot boxes. Gallo Images/Philip Maeta

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s 2026 local government elections are estimated to have cost around R4.3-billion, although the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is yet to confirm its final expenditure.

The commission told Parliament in May that it had budgeted R3.2 billion for the elections. It later indicated that it required an additional R1.1-billion.

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Former IEC commissioner and executive chairperson of the Institute of Electoral Management Services in Africa, Terry Tselane, says the scale of the logistical operation involved in running an election requires substantial resources.

He says this includes investment in information and communications technology (ICT), particularly as more of the commission’s processes become automated.

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“The fact that most of the aspects of the Commission are now automated would require ICT to put a lot of money into those processes,” Tselane said.

The IEC also needs to recruit and deploy thousands of electoral staff to service voting stations across the country.

Other major expenses include printing approximately 100 million ballot papers and preparing venues for voting.

While schools and other public facilities are often used as voting stations, Tselane says there are additional costs involved, including cleaning and restoring venues after voting.

Tselane says the IEC’s budget must cover far more than election day itself, with substantial costs incurred during the planning and preparation stages.

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He believes the commission’s funding pressures also affect its ability to invest in voter and civic education.

“Its budget, from time to time, indicates that it is not sufficient to be able to run the operation of the business,” he said.

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“That is why most of the time the IEC compromises on good education processes,” he added.

Tselane says the commission often has to prioritise the operational requirements of running an election over other important functions, including educating voters.

The IEC is yet to provide a final breakdown of its expenditure on the 2026 local government elections.