2026 Local Government Elections
Know the truth before you vote.
10 manifestos analysed. 2,170 promises found. Is each promise within a council’s powers?
Every promise is quoted in the party’s own words and checked against what the Constitution gives a council the power to do. Where we cannot tell, we say so.
Preview of analysis, as at 7 October 2026. Promises are counted by Ukweli: from 32 to 454 per manifesto, average 217.
Manifesto counts last checked 14 October 2026. Parties contesting is the IEC’s figure of 2 September 2026.
Reported launches not analysed here: ACT, BOSA, GOOD, ICM, Minority Front, PAC, Patriotic Alliance. Ukweli does not yet hold a readable manifesto document for these parties.
282 of the 1,570 promises Ukweli could assess are outside a council’s powers.
Outside means the matter is not among those the Constitution lists for municipalities (Schedules 4B and 5B), is not about how the council runs itself, and is not a matter where another sphere leads and the law gives the council a defined role (those are shown separately as “Led by another sphere”).
Many are matters for national or provincial government, or for the private sector. The reason is on each promise.
An outside promise is not a false one. A council can still lobby, partner with or press the government that holds the power. The question to put to a candidate is who will deliver it, and how.
All 1,570 promises Ukweli could assess, the 10 manifestos together:
- A council’s own services: 317
- How the council runs itself: 623
- Shared with other spheres of government: 2
- Led by another sphere, council has a role: 154
- Outside a council’s powers: 282
- The party’s own conduct: 192
A further 600 promises could not be assessed and are not counted here.
See them in each manifesto: ACDP · ActionSA · AMM · ANC · DA · EFF · FF Plus · IFP · SACP · UDM
Who holds the power instead?
For 272 of the 282 outside promises, Ukweli’s table of powers that parties often promise but councils do not hold gives a subject and a reason, shown on each promise. They fall into these groups.
Each square is one promise: 282 outside promises from the ten manifestos together. Click a group, or a square, to read who holds the power.
Manifestos analysed by Ukweli to date
Each party’s promises, word for word, with Ukweli’s finding on each, or the reason it could not assess it. Parties are in alphabetical order.
Party logos belong to the parties and are shown for identification only. Ukweli is not affiliated with any party.
Compare the parties side by sideWhat each party is promising, theme by theme, and how much of it a council can deliver. Choose up to four parties.Open the comparison →How promise verification works
Here, verification means one thing: testing whether a promise falls within what a council may do. That shows you which promises are a council’s own responsibility, which depend on other spheres of government, and which are outside a council’s powers.
Quoted. Each promise appears in the party’s own words, with the page it comes from.
Tested. Each is checked against what the Constitution gives a council the power to do (Schedules 4B and 5B, sections 152 to 156), and against a table of powers that parties often promise but the Constitution gives to national or provincial government. The reason is shown on each promise where Ukweli holds one; where it does not yet, the promise says so. An AI model reads each promise three times; a finding is published only when all three readings agree and every check passes.
Marked. Where we cannot assess a promise, we say so and give the reason.
Ukweli does not score, rank or endorse any party. It does not say whether a promise will be kept, whether it is affordable, or whether a party’s figures are right.
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