“She Must Queue Like Everyone Else”: Voters Reject Buffalo City Mayor’s Request to Skip Line

• Residents at a Gonubie voting station refused to let the Buffalo City Metro mayor bypass the queue on election day
• An IEC official was caught on video asking voters whether the mayor could move to the front of the line
• South Africans watching the clip praised voters for holding politicians to the same standard as everyone else

EASTERN CAPE - Voters at a Gonubie polling station drew widespread praise on 4 November 2026 after refusing to let the executive mayor of Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality skip the queue during South Africa's local government elections.

A video shared by @SiwaMbara on X captured an IEC official approaching voters standing in line and asking whether the mayor could be allowed through ahead of them. The crowd's response was firm and immediate.

One resident summed up the mood with a sharp comment in isiXhosa:

"Uzofola nathi namhlanje," meaning "she will join the queue with us today."

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The Mayor and the queue that would not budge

Although the mayor herself was not shown in the clip, the executive mayor of Buffalo City Metro Municipality is Princess Faku of the ANC. The moment quickly gained traction online, resonating with South Africans who headed to the polls with strong feelings about service delivery and whether their elected leaders had earned their votes.

The local government elections were the dominant story across the country on the day, with many voters saying their choices would be guided by which parties and candidates had actually improved their communities.

Watch the clip that sparked the debate here:

Mzansi backs the voters

South Africans in the comments had plenty to say:

@mhlangathobeka1 wrote:

"Fair, super proud of our citizens, even the president should queue, klaar."

@nicholasp2105 said:

"These ANC members think they are important."

@NomfundoNMotha asked:

"What nonsense is this? Isn't this what everyone is there for? Deciding whether the mayor is important or not?"

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@PrinceMoha57352 noted:

"Look at impartial IEC official trying to get that mayor to the front of the queue... that's the problem in SA, these politicians think they are special and doing the citizens a favour."

@AsherSA010 added:

"That's the correct way. Mayors are servants of the voters, and should vote first, or last, otherwise, take your place in the queue respectfully and be patient, like we all are."

Voter fakes injury to avoid the queue

Briefly News also reported that while some people waited for hours to cast their votes, a young man found a way to skip the long queue by pretending to be physically impaired. Snazo Qwabe took to her TikTok account to share a video of the man showing off his acting skills. At the beginning of the clip, the limping man uses a crutch to exit the voting station. After a few steps, the pretender replaces the staggered walk for a faster pace, not needing the crutch at all.

Source: Briefly News