Nearly 140 000 candidates are standing in the 2026 local government elections (LGE).

This is according to the Electoral Commission (IEC).

It said that there were 136 790 candidates who were contesting seats across South Africa’s 205 local municipalities, eight metros, and 44 district municipalities.

In total, there were 10 526 seats up for grabs, against the 10 478 seats that were available in the 2021 election. However, in that election there had been 95 427 candidates – this means in the 2026 election the number of candidates has increased by more than 40% while the number of seats has increased by less than half a percent.

The chart below shows the number of candidates and seats in 2021 and 2026.

According to the IEC, 98 219 candidates were nominated to represent parties in wards, 38 571 were nominated on proportional representation lists, and 621 people were standing as independent candidates for ward seats.

The IEC also said that men dominated the candidate lists, with 62% of candidates being male.

The IEC said that Johannesburg was the municipality that had the highest number of parties standing. There would be 75 parties standing in that city in the LGE.

The chart below shows the 10 municipalities that have the highest number of parties contesting.

The IEC said that Ward 18 in Johannesburg (Eldorado Park) would have the most candidates of any ward in the country. Sixty-three candidates were contesting that ward.

Parties will sign an electoral code of conduct next week, the IEC said, which “promotes free, fair and peaceful campaigning and sets standards for responsible participation in the elections”. It also said that for the first time it had “promulgated an additional code of conduct on measures to counter disinformation (disinformation code). This initiative is strengthening measures to address false or misleading information and protect the integrity of the electoral process.”