R3.2bn and counting: The rising price of running SA’s elections

At last count in May 2026, Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) officials informed parliament that they had budgeted about R3.2 billion for the current fiscal year – money that would form part of the funding for administering the local government elections.

However, in the months after their initial projections, IEC officials realised that delivering free and fair elections on 4 November is expensive and would require additional funding of R1.1 billion from the government.

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This additional funding from National Treasury (which has already been approved) is meant to support the IEC’s voter registration drive and cover the logistical and operational costs associated with the elections.

This means the cost of administering the elections could reach or exceed R4 billion.

Based on publicly available figures, this would make the 2026 polls the most expensive local government elections in South Africa’s democratic history in nominal terms, although the figures have not been adjusted for inflation.

Electoral Commission expenditure trends and estimates (2000/01-2028/29)

Source: National Treasury Estimates of National Expenditure (ENE) data, extracted from a parliamentary report following the IEC’s briefing to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs. Note: Red indicates the financial year in which each local government election took place: December 2000, March 2006, May 2011, August 2016, November 2021 and November 2026.

At this stage, before voting has concluded, the IEC is unable to confirm the final cost of the 2026 local government elections.

“It is too early to determine the cost of the election,” said Masego Sheburi, the IEC’s deputy CEO for electoral operations, during a recent media briefing.

“However, once we have concluded the elections, we will, as required by law, issue a report in respect of the election, which will also include the accounts for all the money allocated to administer the election programme,” Sheburi added.

Previous budget allocations for the IEC’s operations – not just election-day costs – were lower during earlier election cycles:

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During the 2021/22 financial year, in which the 2021 local government elections were held, the IEC’s baseline budget was R2.2 billion. This included the commission’s operational expenditure, rather than just election-day costs.
For the 2016 local government elections, the IEC’s 2015/16 allocation was approximately R1.5 billion. The commission subsequently reported spending about R1.2 billion on election-related operations, with a further R71.34 million allocated to cover salary and equipment warehousing costs arising from the election date being moved from May to August 2016.
When the 2011 local government elections were held in May, the IEC’s total budget stood at R2.277 billion.
During the 2000 local government elections, the IEC’s budget was approximately R577 million.

The IEC is generally well funded but its spend annually is uneven.

It carries forward unspent funds from non-election years to help meet the higher costs associated with election years. For example, its 2016 allocation of R1.5 billion covered approximately R1.2 billion in election-related operational expenditure.

With the projected cost rising from roughly R577 million in 2000 to R4 billion or more in 2026, the IEC effectively saves in the quiet years so it can spend in the capital-heavy election years.

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However, this pattern has limits.

For 2026, the IEC has said that funding is in place to administer the elections, despite an estimated R1.65bn shortfall.

The commission told the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs that it would need to request a rollover of funds to avoid procurement delays that could compromise its election readiness.

Behind costly elections 

Terry Tselane, a former IEC commissioner who now runs elections management company IEMSA, is well versed in election funding.

Speaking to the SAfm Market Update with Moneyweb, he explained why election costs can rise so quickly:

“I think it is estimated now that for this financial year, largely because it is an election year, the IEC will probably use about R3 billion.

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“Many years ago, when I was still part of the commission, the costs were a little bit lower – it was almost R1.5 billion.

This has obviously increased because of quite a number of issues that we can regard as cost drivers in electoral processes.”

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He cited the example of voter registration weekends:

“So, there are two registration weekends ahead of every election. When we leave the election period – or rather the voting period – alone and focus only on the two registration weekends, the commission used to spend about R400 million per registration weekend.

“Those costs have also gone up, and [that] includes the technology that is utilised on the day of the elections, as well as remuneration to the electoral staff for those two days in a weekend.”

This raises the question of whether the IEC’s allocations are actually adequate to deliver a democratic electoral system.

Political parties feel the pinch 

The costly election conundrum is not only felt by the IEC but also political parties participating in elections.

An opposition party leader told Moneyweb that, depending on the party’s size and the scope of its campaign, running an effective election campaign requires at least R50 million. For some campaigns, the cost can even exceed R300 million.

The source, who asked not to be named, said: “Most of the money goes into travelling across the country, meeting potential voters, engaging and educating them about voting.”

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Voter turnout has, after all, followed a long-term downward trend across several election cycles, reflecting factors such as voter apathy and political disengagement.

Not all of the 29.2 million registered voters are expected to turn out at the polls on election day.

“There is a cost in reaching out to people who are registered and convincing them to vote,” the source said.

The source said voter education was particularly important given that the IEC had previously faced budget cuts. In the 2022 Budget, National Treasury proposed cuts of almost R770 million to the commission’s funding over three years, despite the 2024 general elections being on the horizon.

Tselane has repeatedly argued that these financial pressures have real consequences, particularly for the IEC’s voter education efforts.

He said that when the commission lacks sufficient resources, it is forced to make compromises in certain areas, with voter education bearing much of the brunt.

As a result, the public complains that voters do not understand the electoral process and that the IEC has not done enough to educate them. However, Tselane argues that the commission can only do so much with the resources available to it.

Despite the budget cuts and funding pressures, the IEC continues to be regarded as a credible institution with a track record of administering free and fair elections.

International observer missions have repeatedly described the commission as a benchmark for election management bodies in Africa. It is also widely regarded as one of the continent’s most credible electoral authorities.

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