South Africa: Vote for Human Rights and Accountability

With the local government elections scheduled to take place on 4 November 2026, Amnesty International South Africa is calling on voters to vote for human rights and accountability. 

High levels of dissatisfaction with service delivery and visible failures in many municipalities make these elections a critical moment of accountability.

“Millions of people in South Africa continue to be denied their rights due to corruption, mismanagement, poor governance and failing service delivery. Successive governments have failed to deliver on the constitutional rights to have access to adequate housing, water, sanitation and other basic services,” Amnesty International South Africa Executive Director Shenilla Mohamed said.

“Voters must send a strong message to elected officials that corruption and poor service delivery will no longer be tolerated, and all elected officials must be held accountable.” 

Service delivery is the foundation for the full enjoyment of human rights by all who live in South Africa and the state has a constitutional obligation to take action to ensure access to these rights. Voting is one of the ways in which we hold power to account

“Municipal officials are critical for service delivery in that they manage the budgets and set the priorities that determine how rights are delivered. We need to change the face of service delivery in the country from one of corruption and mismanagement with no consequence to one of efficiency and accountability by ensuring that the people voted in have the skills to deliver on what is required and are held to account if they do not and voters have the power to do this.” 

Mohamed said low voter turnout was a cause for concern and reiterated that this was why Amnesty International South Africa was calling on voters to use their power at the ballot box to stand up for human rights.

“This election is an opportunity to demand accountability, and vote for a country where human rights comes first,” she said.

South Africa will hold its sixth local government election on 4 November 2026. Voter turnout has steadily declined over the years. Turnout for local government elections declined from 57.94% in 2016 to 45.86% in the 2021 local government elections. These figures reflect a growing dissatisfaction with the state, particularly among young people.

Service delivery is failing

As South Africa heads towards the local government elections, service delivery once again becomes a central promise, as it is in every election, yet it has repeatedly been reduced to pre-election politicking rather than human rights that the government has an obligation to deliver on. Access to basic services remains a persistent challenge, corruption and mismanagement is widespread, and hope for improved governance is low.

According to the Auditor General’s report, only 39 out of 257 municipalities have achieved a clean audit in the last audit report. Municipalities lost R17.6 billion in fruitless and wasteful expenditure over three years (2021/2022 – 2023/2024).

“The standard and quality of essential service delivery across the country has largely been weakened by corruption and the mismanagement of public funds. This is happening at the expense of people living in South Africa, who are constitutionally entitled to have their basic needs met and to live with dignity. It has been more than 30 years of freedom and still many have to go without access to adequate housing, sufficient water for drinking and domestic use, and safe sanitation. The government needs to fix this, and we, as the people, need to demand that this happens now,” Shenilla Mohamed said. 

The right to water and sanitation

More than 1 million households do not have access to safe drinking water in South Africa.

In 2025, 56.8% of households experienced water interruptions that lasted at least two days at a time, or 15 days in a year.  Meanwhile, 47% of waste water systems nationally are in a critical state.

A total of 3.6 million households do not have access to basic sanitation, while 13% of all households use pit toilets without ventilation, and 155,000 households use bucket toilets. 

“Without reliable water and functioning sanitation systems, dignity and health is undermined. Access to sufficient, safe and affordable water is a fundamental human right. Sanitation is inseparable from it,” Shenilla Mohamed said. 

Voters must demand that political parties commit to maintaining and expanding infrastructure, prioritising basic services for the poor, ending the culture of non-performance, and ensuring that every household has access to clean water and safe sanitation. A municipality that cannot keep the taps running and the sewers flowing cannot claim to uphold human rights.

The right to adequate housing

Section 26 of the Constitution guarantees the right to have access to adequate housing. Adequate housing means more than four walls and a roof. It requires security of tenure, availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure, affordability, habitability, accessibility, and a location that allows access to employment and services.

More than five million people live in informal settlements across South Africa. Amnesty International South Africa’s 2025 report Flooded and Forgotten documented how residents of these settlements, particularly in Cape Town, eThekwini and Johannesburg, live without security of tenure, adequate water, sanitation, waste collection or electricity. Many settlements are located on flood-prone land. When heavy rains come, homes are destroyed, lives are lost, and families are left with temporary or no support. The government’s response has too often been patchy and reactive rather than systematic upgrading that delivers real security and services.

“The government is failing the millions of people trapped in these underserved areas, especially at a time when economic hardships and poverty are rife. The reality is that millions of South Africans are deprived of these rights due to government neglect, under-resourced municipalities, corruption, mismanagement and poor urban governance,” Shenilla Mohamed said.

Local government is critical when it comes to access to housing. Municipalities manage land use, approve development plans, implement upgrading programmes, and provide the bulk of the services that make housing liveable. They must prioritise the upgrading of informal settlements programme, ensure climate-resilient planning, end prolonged stays in temporary relocation areas, and treat residents as rights-holders rather than problems to be managed.

“Despite South Africa having strong legislation and policy and clear international commitments, implementation remains the issue. This failure comes at a huge cost to the human rights, including the right to life, of millions of people,” Shenilla Mohamed said

Why your vote matters

Amnesty International South Africa is asking voters to take the pledge to vote for human rights and hold political parties accountable ahead, during and after the 2026 local government elections.

“Voting is not a symbolic act, it is an exercise of power. By asking candidates hard questions about water infrastructure, sanitation backlogs, informal settlement upgrading, basic services, and transparent governance, voters can shift the political incentives,” Shenilla Mohamed said.

“Voting is one of the ways in which you can protect your rights. Own your vote, own your power, own your voice and vote for human rights.”

Background

You will find the pledge to vote for human rights here.

Amnesty International is non-partisan and does not endorse any political party or candidate. Our aim is to inspire people to make informed decisions based on the state of human rights in South Africa, and to vote with purpose.