Thursday 5 November 2026 · Updated 07:13
EXPLAINERNation Watch Explains

How to hold your council to account after the vote

Voting is the start, not the end. The law gives residents several ways to question, petition and complain to their council, and outside bodies that can investigate when it fails. Here is your toolkit, from petitions to the Public Protector.

By Staff Reporter · Published

The Sharpeville Exhibition Centre with a colourful mural celebrating 20 years of democracy
File photo: the Sharpeville Exhibition Centre and memorial, Emfuleni (2017). Illustrative. Photo: KeMang / Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

As at 5 November 2026.

Bottom line
  • Council business is public. A council must conduct its business openly. It may close a meeting only when that is reasonable, given the business being discussed.1
  • Your municipality must have a way for you to take part. That includes channels for petitions, complaints, public meetings and report-backs.2
  • You can comment on the budget. As soon as the budget is tabled, the municipality must publish it and invite residents to comment.3
  • You can go higher. If the council fails you, you can turn to the Public Protector, the provincial government or the Auditor-General’s public reports.4,5,6

1. Know who represents you

Enter your ID number on the IEC’s Who is my ward councillor page, or SMS your ID number to 32245 (R1 per SMS). You’ll get your ward councillor’s name and contact details.7 After the election, the page will show the new councillor once the council takes office.

The PR councillors on your council represent you too. Ask the party offices whether any of their PR councillors is assigned to your area.

2. Use the participation channels the law requires

The Municipal Systems Act says every municipality must provide for:2

  • receiving, processing and considering petitions and complaints from residents;
  • notification and public comment procedures;
  • public meetings and hearings;
  • consultations with community organisations;
  • report-backs to the community.

Your councillor must report back to the community at least every quarter.8

Tips

  • Put complaints in writing, keep a reference number and send a copy to your ward councillor.
  • If you are part of a group, a petition signed by residents carries more weight than many separate calls.

3. Follow the money

  • The budget: when the draft budget is tabled, at least 90 days before the financial year starts on 1 July, the municipality must publish it and invite comment.3,9
  • The annual report: council meetings that discuss the annual report must be open to the public. Time must be set aside to discuss written submissions from residents.3
  • The audit: the Auditor-General publishes audit outcomes for every municipality online, including Emfuleni’s.6

For more, read Emfuleni’s money: budgets, audits and section 139.

4. Complain about a councillor’s conduct

The councillors’ Code of Conduct bars councillors from giving instructions to staff without authority, using municipal property for themselves and falling more than three months behind on their own municipal accounts.8

If the speaker reasonably suspects a breach, the speaker must authorise an investigation and report the matter to council. That report is open to the public, and the outcome goes to the provincial MEC for local government.8 You can write to the speaker to raise a concern.

5. Go beyond the council

Body What it can do
Public Protector Investigate conduct in public administration in any sphere of government, including municipalities, that is alleged to be improper or to cause prejudice4
The province Intervene under section 139 when a municipality does not fulfil its executive obligations5
Auditor-General Audit every municipality every year and publish the results6
SALGA Represent, promote and protect the interests of local government10

The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) speaks for municipalities as a group, not for individual residents.10 Complaints about your own council’s services are better taken to the council, the province or the Public Protector.

6. Stand yourself

Independent candidates can stand for ward seats. In these elections, 621 independent ward candidates are standing, 122 of them in metros and 499 in local municipalities.11 If a ward seat falls vacant during the term, a by-election must be held within 90 days.12

What happens next

The new council must meet within 14 days of the results being declared, and ward committees must be set up within 120 days of the election.8,12 Ask your councillor when the ward committee will be elected.

In this series
Sources
  1. Constitution, Chapter 7: Local Government, section 160(7), Department of Justice
  2. Local Government: Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000, section 17, gov.za
  3. Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003, sections 22 and 130, gov.za
  4. Constitution, Chapter 9: State Institutions Supporting Constitutional Democracy, section 182, Department of Justice
  5. Constitution, Chapter 6: Provinces, section 139, Department of Justice
  6. MFMA 2024-25: Emfuleni Local Municipality, Auditor-General of South Africa (2026)
  7. Who is my ward councillor?, Electoral Commission
  8. Local Government: Municipal Structures Amendment Act 3 of 2021, section 28 (amending section 73) and Schedule 7, Code of Conduct for Councillors, Government Gazette 44647, gov.za (1 June 2021)
  9. Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003, section 16(2), gov.za
  10. Mandate, South African Local Government Association
  11. Electoral Commission certifies 136 790 candidates to contest the 2026 Local Government Elections, Electoral Commission via gov.za (September 2026)
  12. Local Government: Municipal Structures Act 117 of 1998 (consolidated to 1 November 2022), sections 25 and 29, LawLibrary

Forecasts mentioned

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