Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Tshwane mayoral candidate Omphile Maotwe has attributed the party’s declining support in the 2026 local government elections partly to low voter turnout, calling for local, provincial and national elections to be held simultaneously every five years.
Speaking to the media on Thursday as vote counting continued, Maotwe said the current arrangement of holding different elections at separate times was exhausting voters and potentially discouraging participation.
She argued that synchronising the elections would allow South Africans to vote once every five years instead of returning to the polls for different spheres of government at separate intervals.
Maotwe also proposed introducing automatic voter registration, arguing that some eligible voters only become interested in participating once election campaigns are already under way, by which time registration may have closed.
She referred to an EFF-backed Private Member’s Bill proposing that South Africans aged 18 and older who hold identity documents should automatically qualify for voter registration.
Her third proposal was to make election day a trade-free day, with businesses prohibited from operating so that workers would not have to choose between earning an income and casting their ballots.
Maotwe said some workers, particularly in retail and hospitality, may choose to work on public holidays to earn additional income, leaving them with limited time or energy to vote after their shifts.
Her comments came as preliminary results showed the DA leading in Tshwane, followed by ActionSA and the ANC. The EFF was polling at 5.67% at the time of the report.
Maotwe maintained that political parties also had a responsibility to encourage voter participation, rather than placing the blame solely on people who chose not to vote.
She urged South Africans not to become discouraged from exercising their democratic rights, saying the right to vote had been secured through the sacrifices of those who fought for democracy.
