Overview
- The Electoral Commission reported that 1,425,942 special votes were cast during the two-day special voting period on 2–3 November, with 974,852 at stations and 451,090 by home visit.
- The IEC approved about 2.655 million special‑vote applications but only roughly 55% of approved applicants actually voted, leaving a large number of approved voters still able to turn up at their registered stations on Election Day.
- A Constitutional Court order forced the reprinting of about 33 million ballot papers, a process the IEC says was completed under severe time pressure and that contributed to late ballot deliveries and delayed openings in some areas, notably parts of Cape Town.
- Special voting included several serious incidents: a presiding officer collapsed and died in Mahikeng, a deputy presiding officer in KwaZulu‑Natal was hit by a car, political party members briefly stormed a KZN satellite storage facility, and the province still has about 83,315 home visits outstanding.
- The IEC says all special ballots are securely stored and will be counted with Election Day ballots, but officials warn that outstanding home visits, late distributions and local security risks could lengthen queues and complicate results that will shape municipal power and possible coalitions.