WATCH: KwaZulu-Natal IEC calls 2026 local elections its ‘best ever’

KwaZulu-Natal’s electoral officer Ntombifuthi Masinga

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has hailed the 2026 local government elections as its best-ever operational performance.

KwaZulu-Natal’s electoral officer Ntombifuthi Masinga says reliable technology, on-time materials and improved queue management marked the IEC’s strongest operational performance to date.

Masinga said the commission’s systems had performed well, with infrastructure supporting voter management devices kremaining reliable throughout the process.

“The infrastructure that was in place to support the applications that we used on our voter management devices didn’t fail us. The material was in voting stations on time,” said Masinga.

She praised election staff for their performance, although a handful were dismissed for acting outside the prescribed framework.

“We were very frank in that we terminated anyone immediately if they did anything outside the framework,” she said.

Masinga said the 2024 elections had been marked by long queues at voting stations, a challenge the IEC sought to address through improved operational efficiencies.

“We had all the measures to improve efficiencies and to fast-track queues in voting stations. On our side, operationally, this is our best elections ever,” she said.

She stressed that the IEC was responsible for conducting elections, while the commission would determine whether they were free and fair.