Johannesburgâs electoral map has undergone one of its most extensive redraws in years, with almost every ward in the city affected as population growth in the northern suburbs, changing voter patterns in Soweto and the expansion of informal settlements force a political rebalancing before the 2026 local government elections.

While ward boundary changes are a routine part of the electoral cycle, the latest redraw offers one of the clearest snapshots yet of how dramatically Johannesburg itself is changing. According to the Municipal Demarcation Board, the changes reflect a city being reshaped by two opposing demographic trends: rapid growth along the northern development corridor and declining voter numbers in parts of Soweto.

The changes mean thousands of residents could find themselves voting in different wards, under different councillors or even at different voting stations when Johannesburg heads to the polls on 4 November.

While the Municipal Demarcation Board maintains that the process was purely technical and legally required, opposition parties are closely monitoring the adjustments and questioning how they could affect local representation and ward-level political balances across the metro.

The 15% formula: How the board computes wards

In detailed written responses to questions from Daily Maverick, the Municipal Demarcation Board set out how the ward delimitation process works and why almost every Johannesburg ward was ultimately affected by the redraw.

The board said ward boundaries were determined using a statutory formula based on the number of registered voters in the city. Johannesburgâs total registered voter population is divided by its maximum 135 wards to determine an average voter norm. Under the Municipal Structures Act, individual wards may not deviate by more than 15% above or below that figure.

According to the board, when population-dense clusters such as Midrand, Fourways and Diepsloot cross the upper threshold, the Municipal Demarcation Board is legally required to move voting districts into adjacent wards to restore the balance.

The board said draft maps were aligned with geographical features, cadastral boundaries and community representations before finalisation, reiterating that the system was designed âto prevent any form of manipulation and to ensure fair, credible and unbiased outcomesâ.

The northern boom

According to the board, some of the biggest changes occurred along Johannesburgâs northern growth corridor, including Fourways, Midrand and Diepsloot.

Driven by townhouse developments, security estate expansion, informal settlement growth and continued urban migration, voter numbers in many northern wards exceeded the maximum thresholds permitted under electoral legislation.

As those wards grew, voters had to be redistributed into neighbouring wards to bring them back within the required range. The board said this triggered a chain reaction across surrounding areas.

The Soweto shift

At the same time, a number of established Soweto wards fell below the minimum voter threshold required by law.

To maintain balanced representation, the board was required to redraw boundaries and extend some wards to incorporate additional voters from surrounding areas.

The board told Daily Maverick that informal settlement growth, migration patterns and changing voter registration trends also contributed to the imbalance.

Adjusting these boundaries created a âripple effectâ, where changes to one ward triggered adjustments across neighbouring boundaries until the entire municipality complied with legislated voter norms.

According to the board, this ripple effect ultimately affected almost every ward in Johannesburg.

In its response, the board rejected suggestions that the process was politically driven.

âThe Municipal Demarcation Board is an independent and apolitical organisation, committed to executing its mandate without fear, favour or prejudice,â it said.

It added that the ward delimitation system was designed âto prevent any form of manipulation and to ensure fair, credible and unbiased outcomesâ.

Main areas of contestation and affected wards

While the board presents the redraw as a technical exercise, political parties point to several controversial changes. Among them:

Lenasia South: Wards 9, 120 and 122

ActionSA spokesperson Lebo Mokoka challenged changes affecting wards 122, 120 and 9 in the Lenasia South area, alleging that informal settlement communities were moved between wards and voting districts despite objections from residents and councillors.

âThe voices are suppressed in that process,â she said.

Mokoka said complaints were submitted before the final maps were approved, but alleged that many concerns remained unresolved.

She argued that moving large voter blocks between wards could alter the electoral dynamics of affected communities.

According to Mokoka, residents and councillors objected to several of the proposed changes, but many of the disputed boundary adjustments remained in the final maps.

See the changes below.

Ward 117: Blairgowrie, Dunkeld and Craighall Park

DA Johannesburg caucus leader Tim Truluck pointed to Ward 117 as an example of how the process works in practice.

According to Truluck, the ward had too few registered voters and needed to absorb additional voters to comply with electoral requirements.

He said previous boundaries had left small portions of Dunkeld and Craighall Park attached to the ward despite stronger geographic links to neighbouring suburbs.

An initial proposal would have moved an entire Blairgowrie voting district into Ward 117.

Following objections from residents and councillors, however, the proposal was amended and only a smaller section of the suburb was incorporated into the ward. You can see the new boundaries below.

The case illustrates how ward boundary changes can affect not only political representation, but also which councillor is responsible for a community, where residents vote and how local issues are managed.

Taken together, the examples highlight how the redraw is affecting communities as diverse as Soweto, the northern suburbs, Lenasia South, Blairgowrie, Dunkeld and Craighall Park.

The politics of demarcation

The redraw is already prompting debate about whether the process was purely administrative or whether it could have political consequences.

âBoundary changes can be used to gerrymander and make changes to the detriment of certain political parties and communities,â Truluck said.

The issue is particularly significant in Johannesburg, where coalition governments have repeatedly risen and fallen on narrow margins and where a handful of wards can influence control of the council.

ActionSAâs objections in Lenasia South and the negotiations over Ward 117 illustrate how even relatively small boundary changes can become politically contentious when they affect voter numbers, community identities or local representation.

The changes also raise broader governance questions about whether Johannesburgâs political and administrative structures are keeping pace with the cityâs rapidly changing urban realities.

What the changes mean for residents

The process may still leave many residents confused before the elections, particularly in areas where communities have been split between different wards or where voting districts have shifted significantly.

Civic activist Iqbal Cajee said the impact of the redraw extended beyond ward boundaries, with a number of voting districts also being split and reassigned between wards as part of the effort to balance voter numbers.

He pointed to examples including portions of the Antea Hostel voting district in Ward 68 and the Coronationville Secondary voting district in Ward 69 being moved into Ward 58. He also said part of the Jim Fouché Primary voting district, previously in Ward 58, had been reassigned to Ward 69.

According to Cajee, similar voting district adjustments had taken place across Johannesburg as part of the demarcation process.

âWard 58, a troubled ward, now has nine voting districts in it stretching from Fordsburg to Coronationville,â Cajee said.

âThey have added another hostel into the voting area. This is going to affect and worsen service delivery issues. We are already a battlefield ward, and now with a larger area to service there are going to be problems. There has been very little publicity around these changes. Residents should have been better informed as it is going to affect their daily lives.â

Community representatives in Ward 58 said concerns about the proposed changes were raised during the public participation process more than a year ago, warning that many residents might only discover their ward or voting district changes when preparing to vote.

Residents can check updated ward maps and boundary changes on the Municipal Demarcation Board website at www.demarcation.org.za or submit queries via email to info@demarcation.org.za.

Voters can verify their registration details and voting station information through the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) by visiting registertovote.elections.org.za.

Continuous voter registration remains open online or at local IEC offices until the election date is officially gazetted and proclaimed by the minister, at which point the votersâ roll closes for the November election. DM

Ward 117: Why the boundary changes matterWard 117 provides a useful example of how Johannesburgâs redraw will affect residents on the ground.

The ward spans several established northern suburbs, including Blairgowrie, Bordeaux, parts of Ferndale and areas around Delta Park and the Braamfontein Spruit. Before the latest redraw, it also included small sections of Craighall Park and Dunkeld.

According to Truluck, one of the challenges with the previous configuration was that parts of Craighall Park and Dunkeld were geographically disconnected from the rest of the ward and had stronger links to neighbouring suburbs and wards.

The redraw sought to align those areas more closely with surrounding communities while adding part of Blairgowrie to bring Ward 117 back within the voter numbers required under electoral legislation.

An initial proposal would have moved an entire Blairgowrie voting district into Ward 117. Following objections from residents and councillors, however, the proposal was amended and only a smaller section of the suburb was incorporated into the ward.

For residents, the changes are about more than electoral boundaries.

Ward councillors are often the first point of contact for issues such as potholes, traffic concerns, illegal dumping, planning applications, park maintenance, infrastructure problems and service delivery complaints.