How this works

South Africa's Local Government Elections are on Wednesday 4 November 2026. Every question and every party position on this site is drawn from documents the parties published themselves.

This isn't perfect, just a suggestion

The scores are produced by reading what parties have written and placing those statements on 15 axes. Reading and placing a statement involves judgement, so the numbers are an approximation. No score is a recommendation.

The axes

Each axis runs from -2.00 to +2.00. The negative and positive ends are described in plain language, and fractional values are used where a party's position sits between the two.

Economy: state or market

Ownership and control of the economy.

-2.00: State-led: the state owns or directs key industries, sets prices and plans investment.

+2.00: Market-led: private ownership, deregulation, lower taxes and a smaller state.

Land reform and expropriation

How land is redistributed and how strongly property rights are protected.

-2.00: Expropriation without compensation and state custodianship of land.

+2.00: Strong property rights; redistribution only through willing-buyer/willing-seller and the courts.

BEE and race-based redress

Whether redress for past racial exclusion is pursued through race-based instruments.

-2.00: Race-based redress expanded: BEE, employment equity and ownership targets enforced.

+2.00: Race-based redress phased out or replaced by non-racial, class-based or need-based measures.

Labour market

Statutory protection of workers and flexibility for employers.

-2.00: Strong worker protection: higher minimum wages, collective bargaining, limits on labour broking and dismissal.

+2.00: Flexible labour market: easier hiring and dismissal, fewer statutory protections, incentives for employers.

Healthcare and NHI

Who funds and provides health care.

-2.00: Universal public health care: a publicly funded and publicly provided National Health Insurance with a smaller private sector.

+2.00: Private provision: medical schemes and market competition carry most of the system, with a smaller public role.

Education

Control and funding of schooling.

-2.00: State-directed schooling: a central curriculum, expanded free public education and tighter regulation of independent schools.

+2.00: Parental choice: independent schools, charter-type models and market mechanisms in education.

Crime and policing

The state's approach to crime.

-2.00: Enforcement-first: more police and soldiers on the streets, harsher sentences, fewer procedural limits on the state.

+2.00: Prevention-first: community policing, restorative justice, and civil-liberties safeguards.

Immigration

Rules on the entry and residence of foreign nationals.

-2.00: Restrictive: tighter borders, limits on foreign nationals, deportation of undocumented migrants.

+2.00: Open: freer movement, rights for migrants, and regional integration.

Energy and climate

The energy mix and the pace of decarbonisation.

-2.00: Rapid decarbonisation: coal phase-out, renewable generation and climate commitments prioritised.

+2.00: Energy security first: continued coal, gas or nuclear generation and a slower transition.

Federalism and devolution

Where power sits between national, provincial and municipal government.

-2.00: Centralised: a unitary state where national government sets policy and lower tiers have limited discretion.

+2.00: Devolved or federal: more powers, budgets and discretion for provinces and municipalities.

Traditional leadership

The constitutional role of kings, chiefs and customary law.

-2.00: Expanded role: traditional leaders hold formal powers over governance, land and customary law.

+2.00: Limited role: elected structures and individual constitutional rights take precedence over customary authority.

Social values

Law and public policy on family, religion, gender and sexuality.

-2.00: Conservative: law reflects religious or traditional morality, with narrower reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights.

+2.00: Liberal: secular law, with expanded gender, reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights.

Foreign policy

Alignment in international relations.

-2.00: Non-aligned and Global South: closer ties with BRICS, Russia, China and Palestine, with distance from Western powers.

+2.00: Western-aligned: closer ties with the United States, the European Union and other liberal democracies.

Anti-corruption and governance

The strength of state machinery to prevent and punish corruption.

-2.00: Expanded oversight: independent anti-corruption bodies with stronger investigative powers, asset forfeiture and procurement transparency.

+2.00: Smaller state machinery: fewer new bodies and regulations, with corruption handled through existing criminal law and the courts.

Local service delivery

Who delivers municipal services such as water, electricity, refuse removal and local roads.

-2.00: Centralised delivery: national standards and national or provincial intervention where councils fail.

+2.00: Municipal self-reliance: councils and communities decide, with private or community providers used where they work better.

Where the positions come from

Every scored position carries a quote and a source: the document's title, URL, publication date, the section it came from, and the type of document (a party document, a manifesto, a party constitution, Wikipedia, or another source). If no document states a position, the axis is marked as having no published position and it is not scored. Nothing is inferred from a party's reputation, allies, slogans or name.

Human review has not yet been done on every file, so treat each position as a starting point and follow the link.

How the questions are chosen

The questionnaire holds 19 questions. After each answer, the next question is the one that best separates the parties currently leading your match. It stops when one party is clearly ahead, when no remaining question would separate the leaders, or after a fixed number of questions.

Data

30 parties are included. All data is stored as YAML files in the repository; there is no database. A party is only included if at least eight of the 15 axes have a cited position.

Neutrality

The site carries no party logos or party colours, and parties are listed alphabetically. Wording describes what a party has written, without praise or criticism. Corrections with a better source are welcome.