34 new parties registered ahead of local govt elections - IEC
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) says it has registered 34 new parties since the general elections last year.
Thirteen of the new parties were registered in the period between July 2025 and August.
This brings the total number of registered parties to 472. Of these, 287 are registered on a national level, while 185 are registered provincially or on the district or metro levels.
The next local government elections are expected to be held between November 2026 and January 2027.
The IEC briefed the media in Pretoria on Tuesday.
"The commission will convene a series of information sessions starting in November 2025 with registered but unrepresented political parties and aspiring independent candidates in preparation for the upcoming elections," said the IEC’s Sy Mamabolo
However, despite registering the new parties, they also had to decline applications from at least five parties.
One of the parties that was rejected was the Islamic State of Africa party, which vowed to advocate for sharia law in South Africa.
Another party that was rejected is the Mandela for President party, which was established by former ANC MP Boy Mamabolo.
The IEC also confirmed there won't be any electronic voting in place for next year’s polls.
