Anyone who cannot reach their registered station on election day can apply to the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) for a special vote. Special voting takes place on Monday, November 2 and Tuesday, November 3, from 8am to 5pm. Applications close at 5pm on Monday, October 12, and can be made online or by SMS to 32249, at R1 per message.

In metros, each voter receives two ballots, one for a ward councillor and one for a party. Outside metros, a third ballot for the district council may also be issued. Mayors are chosen by the newly elected councils, not directly by voters.

A total of 136,790 candidates are contesting 10,526 council seats, which IOL describes as the most fragmented election to date. An Ipsos survey puts the ANC at 31% nationally. IOL also cites projections, without naming their source, that have the DA leading in Johannesburg at 42% and the MK Party at 55% in eThekwini. Turnout is estimated to fall to about 42%, from 45.79% in 2021.

The Electoral Court dismissed an ANC challenge over the exclusion of 181 of its candidates. According to IOL, the ruling affects ANC-held Eastern Cape municipalities including Port St Johns and Ngquza Hill. Separately, following an Electoral Court ruling, the ANC will not appear on the party ballot in Mangaung. The reports do not explicitly link the two rulings.

In Johannesburg, the DA's Helen Zille, ActionSA's Herman Mashaba, the PA's Kenny Kunene, the IFP's Mlungisi Mabaso, the EFF's Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng and the MK Party's Bongani Baloyi are among the listed mayoral contenders. In Tshwane, the list includes the DA's Cilliers Brink, ActionSA's Dr Nasiphi Moya, the EFF's Omphile Maotwe, the MK Party's Nkele Annie Matime, the IFP's Douglas Ziyanda Zwane and the FF+'s Willie Spies. The ANC has not yet confirmed its candidate in either city, nor in eThekwini or Cape Town.

In Ekurhuleni, potential ANC candidates are incumbent mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza, Jongizizwe Dlabathi, Pelisa Nkunjana and Ntombi Mekgwe. In Buffalo City, the potential ANC candidates are Princess Faku, Nocawe Mafu, Simphiwe Dzengwa and Ncedo Kumbaca. The DA has named ward candidates there but no mayoral candidate. In eThekwini, the MK Party's Mxolisi Phakathi replaced Zandile Hlophe-Mkhwanazi as candidate on September 10. Cape Town's listed contenders include the DA's Geordin Hill-Lewis and Good + Rise Mzansi's Brett Herron.

IOL reports that smaller parties are expected to hold the balance in Johannesburg, Tshwane and eThekwini, where coalition negotiations will decide who governs. A proposed Coalition Bill would set up a legislative framework for hung councils, though critics have previously opposed a 1% threshold for representation in connection with it. Professor Jaap de Visser of the Dullah Omar Institute at the University of the Western Cape advises voters to judge councillors on service delivery and integrity rather than political ideology.