IEC receives additional R1.1bn ahead of 2026 local elections

The Electoral Commission (IEC) says it has received an additional amount of about R1.1 billion from the National Treasury, for the 2026/2027 financial year.

The Commission says it requested additional funding after it identified a budget deficit from the initial R3.1 billion it received. The Commission was giving an update to the Standing Committee on Appropriations on its readiness for the 2026 local government elections.

On the 4th of November this year, South Africans will be voting in local government elections. The IEC says its budget for this financial year will be mainly used for election operations.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) says preparations for the 2026 local government elections are well in advance. The Commission says this includes the technical logistics and outreach community requirements for the polls. https://t.co/LlV8FWHThC pic.twitter.com/hANcqjSdqw

— SABC News (@SABCNews) April 21, 2026

“Now what is 26/27 look like? 26/27 you will recall I said the allocation is R3.1 billion. What do I need in terms of expenditure to cover the expenditure? I am expecting an expenditure of R4.1 billion. The question is how we are going to then fund the R1.6 billion,” says IEC Chief Financial Officer, Dawn Mbatha.

But the National Treasury has attached conditions to the additional amount. Mbatha says National Treasury wants the IEC to first submit the audited financial statements before it can use the money.

“The National Treasury has given us in the last financial year R1.1 billion. This amount was allocated to us and it is in our bank account. Us accessing that R1 billion is then subject to National Treasury after we submitted audited financial statements on the 31st of July but the money is in our bank account since we have received it. The only issue is the time in which we will tap into those resources,” says Mbatha.

Mbatha says it also has reserves that will be used as additional financial support for its operations, including the elections.

“I did indicate to the committee that we do save on the instances where we had underspent. We are currently looking for the projection of R700 million that is available to us. That amount is in our bank account available and it will form part of the retention of surplus,” she adds.

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