Your community needs a new road. The next needs water pipes fixed. So what gets done first? 🇿🇦🗳️ Municipalities have limited money, staff and resources. When they cannot do everything at once, they need to decide which needs come first while meeting their responsibilities.

How does your municipality know what your community needs? 🇿🇦🗳️ Good planning starts with understanding the people who live there. Municipalities need to put communities’ basic needs at the centre of how they plan, budget and deliver services.

Thought you had five years before the next local election? 🇿🇦🗳️ If a ward councillor seat becomes vacant, a by-election may be held to choose a replacement. It involves that ward, not the whole municipality, and the new councillor serves the rest of the council’s existing term.

One ward. One seat. Could the result affect the whole municipality? Yoh, sometimes it can. 🇿🇦🗳️ A councillor elected in a by-election serves the rest of the council’s existing term. They don’t start a new five-year term.

There’s a by-election nearby. Can you take part? It depends on where you’re registered. 🇿🇦🗳️ To vote in a ward by-election, you must be a South African citizen, at least 18 years old and registered to vote in the ward where it is happening.

Only one ward is voting. Does that mean the rules matter less? Not at all. 🇿🇦🗳️ From checking the voters’ roll to counting the votes, every step matters. A by-election must still be free and fair, with the same constitutional standards that protect other elections.

Your ward councillor resigns, but the next municipal elections are still two years away. Now what? 🇿🇦🗳️ Yoh, that’s where a by-election comes in. It gives voters in that ward a way to choose a replacement before the next regular municipal elections.

Wait, where’s the ballot for the mayor? Yoh, there’s another step. 👀🇿🇦🗳️ Residents elect councillors. In municipalities with an executive mayor, the councillors then elect that mayor from among themselves. The executive mayor appoints the mayoral committee.

Parties can negotiate who gets which role. But who actually makes the appointments? 🇿🇦🗳️ When no party has a majority, choosing who to support for mayor can be a big part of coalition talks.

They’ve agreed to govern together. But what have they agreed to do? 👀🇿🇦🗳️ When no party has a majority, agreements made after the election can shape how your municipality is governed.

Whether it’s a big city or a smaller town, elected councillors must come together to form the new council. And if no party wins enough seats to govern alone? Yoh, that’s where negotiations and possible coalitions come in.

You came for election results. Suddenly, it’s a maths lesson. Yoh. 🇿🇦🗳️ Winning ward seats is only part of the picture. Those seats already count towards a party’s overall total. Proportional representation helps make the council reflect the support parties received from voters.

How does a vote become a seat in your municipal council? 🇿🇦🗳️ For ward seats, the candidate with the most votes wins. Other councillors enter through proportional representation, which helps make the council reflect the support political parties received from voters.

Something went wrong at a voting station. Does that mean the election was rigged? Not automatically. 🇿🇦🗳️ Voters can object to the conduct of election officials, party representatives, ward candidates or other people at the voting station.

What actually happens when you arrive at a voting station? 🇿🇦🗳️ An election official checks your identity and confirms that your name is on the voters’ roll. Your name is marked off and your thumb is marked with special ink before you receive your ballot papers.

Miss the deadline, miss the ballot? Yoh, timing matters. 🇿🇦🗳️ Getting your name on the ballot means completing the nomination process, submitting the required documents and meeting the deadline

Do you have to belong to a political party to become a councillor? Yoh, not necessarily. 🇿🇦🗳️ People who meet the requirements can stand as independent ward candidates or through a political party. Local government elections give people an opportunity to put themselves forward.

Your role in your community doesn’t begin and end on election day. 🇿🇦🗳️ Do you know when your ward committee meets or how to raise an issue? Finding out is a good place to start.

Knowing the difference helps you understand who is responsible when something happens in your municipality. Watch our local government episodes and share your Yoh Moment at futurelect.org/LGE2026. You could win an iPhone 17 worth up to R20 000. Terms and conditions apply.

Different positions. Different jobs. Crossing the line? Red card. 🇿🇦🗳️ Councillors make political decisions and provide oversight. Municipal officials manage the administration and implement lawful council decisions. #futurelect #LGE2026 #civiceducation