The Minister of Human Settlements, Thembi Simelane, will tomorrow, 4 November 2026, cast her vote at Mitchell House School in Bendor, Polokwane Local Municipality, reaffirming a right to vote as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996.

The sixth Local Government Elections of 2026 denotes a profound vote of confidence to the institutions supporting South Africa’s constitutional democracy such as the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

Minister Simelane encourages all registered voters across the country to turn out in numbers and exercise their democratic right to vote. Local Government Elections are particularly important as they decide the representatives who will serve communities in wards, local municipalities, district municipalities, and metropolitan municipalities. These elected representatives form part of the local sphere of government and are entrusted with implementing policies and legislation that respond to the needs of communities and advance service delivery.

Critically, it is expected that the elected representatives will play a pivotal role in the implementation of the Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP) and its priorities. For Human Settlements, these include accelerating the establishment of townships, provision of bulk infrastructure to enable the construction of housing units, upgrading of informal settlements, mainly provision of basic services such as water and sanitation.

Details of the casting of the vote are as follows:

Date: 4 November 2026

Time: 11:00

Venue: Mitchell House School Voting Station, Bendor, Polokwane Local Municipality

Enquiries: Tsekiso Machike, Spokesperson to the Minister on 077 410 5050 Tsekiso.Machike@dhs.gov.za

Issued by the Ministry of Human Settlements, Govan Mbeki House 240, Justice Mahomed Street, Sunnyside, Pretoria