smartvote Joburg launches to help Johannesburg voters compare party positions ahead of 4 November elections
smartvote Joburg, a free online Voting Advice Application (VAA), goes live today. It gives Johannesburg residents a quick, non-partisan way to compare their own views with the positions of the political parties contesting the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in the 2026 Local Government Elections on 4 November.
The pilot. smartvote Joburg was initiated in July 2026 by colleagues and independent directors Marquerithe and Monhla, who want South African voters to be engaged and well informed. The pilot focuses on Johannesburg, with a community roll-out in Ward 60, and will test the potential for a national smartvote SA ahead of the 2029 National Elections. It is a collaboration between three partners:
- Politools, the Swiss non-profit behind the smartvote voting advice applications
- Tree company (Belgium), which built the app and designed its interface
- The Rivonia Circle, a Johannesburg non-profit that provided the local research and content
How it works. Users respond to a set of statements on the issues residents rank as most pressing in the GCRO Quality of Life Survey (Round 7, 2023/24): crime, unemployment, basic services and maintenance, alcohol and drug abuse, and the high cost of living. For each statement, users can strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree. The app then ranks the parties by how closely their positions match the user’s, shown as a percentage. Party positions were compiled by the Rivonia Circle from party survey responses, manifestos, interviews and public statements, with care taken to keep the statements balanced across topics and the political spectrum.
Which parties are included. All 75 political parties registered for the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality are visible in the app. Only the 16 parties with sufficient information on the app’s 23 statements are included in the matching tool.
Information, not instruction. smartvote Joburg does not tell anyone how to vote. It shows where a voter stands in the wider party landscape, adding context to a campaign where political information is often abundant, unclear or contradictory. Voters remain free to weigh this alongside any other factors that matter to them.
Parties, not ward councillors. smartvote Joburg compares party positions only. It does not cover individual ward councillor candidates. Voters looking for information on ward candidates can visit contactmymuni.co.za.
Privacy by design. Answers and results are processed only in the user’s own browser. They are not sent to the organisers or stored, and the app uses no cookies.
Voters can use smartvote Joburg now at za.smartvote.org.
ENDS
Media enquiries: Marquerithe | 082 418 9802| marquerithe@mweb.co.za
More information: politools.net | international.treecompany.be | rivoniacircle.org
