10 January 2006
The countdown for the 2006 Municipal Elections started in earnest with the
publication of the electoral timetable in the Government Gazette today, the
Chief Electoral Officer, Adv Pansy Tlakula, said.
"After the promulgation of the date for the municipal elections on Friday,
the Commission approved an election timetable, which outlines the electoral
processes until Election Day," she said.
The National Common Voters' Roll closed with the proclamation of the date
for the municipal elections and will be certified on 11 January 2006.
The election timetable outlines and gives time frames for the following
processes:
a. Certification of the National Common Votersâ Roll to be used for the
municipal elections and making those segments available for inspection on 11
January;
b. Notification by political parties and independent candidates by 19 January
informing the IEC of their intention to participate in the municipal
elections;
c. Nomination of ward and party candidates and payment of deposits by 19
January;
d. Compilation by the IEC of a list of the parties contesting the elections and
the certification of those lists by 30 January;
e. Notification by the IEC that copies of a list of voting stations and their
addresses are available at the local IEC office by 8 February;
f. Notification by the IEC of the routes for mobile voting stations including
locations and estimated times of stopping by 8 February;
g. Issuing of certificates by the IEC to persons whose names appear on a party
list and to each ward candidate by 13 February; and
All registered voters, whose names appear on the certified National Common
Voters' Roll, will be able to vote for the candidate or party of their choice
at the voting station where they have registered when voting takes place for
the municipal elections on Wednesday, 1 March 2006.
Voters living in the six metropolitan councils â Tshwane Metro [Pretoria],
City of Johannesburg [Johannesburg], Ekurhuleni [East Rand], City of Cape Town
[Cape Town], Nelson Mandela [Port Elizabeth] and Durban-Ethekwini [Durban
Metro] - will have two votes each. One vote, based on the first-past-the-post
principle, will count for the ward candidate of their choice and the second
vote, based on the principle of proportional representation, will count for the
party of their choice and will determine the overall composition of the
councils.
In local councils with wards, voters will get three ballot papers - one vote
for the ward candidate, one vote for a party and a third vote for proportional
representation on the District Council.
In local councils without wards, voters will get two ballot papers â one
proportional representation ballot for the party in the local council and
another proportional representation ballot for the party on the District
Council.
In District Management Areas, which are entities managed by District
Councils, voters will get two ballot papers to vote for that areaâs
representative in the District Council and for the overall proportional
composition of the District Council.
At present parties are registered with the Electoral Commission as political
parties. The fee to register is R500. Parties who want to contest the municipal
elections must be registered by 19 January since that is the cut-off date in
the election timetable for the nomination of candidates.
Parties and independent candidates have to pay a deposit to contest the
elections. These deposits have to be paid to the Electoral Commission by bank
guaranteed cheque and are as follows:
* R3 000 per metropolitan council (covers PR list and ward
candidates);
* R2 000 per local council with wards (covers PR list and ward
candidates);
* R1 000 per local council without wards (covers PR list candidates);
* R1 000 per district council (covers PR list candidates);
* R500 per ward candidate nominated by a party who is not contesting the
election of the relevant municipal council by way of a party (PR) list;
* R500 per independent ward candidate.
Ward candidates have to be registered voters in the municipality they want
to contest.
Adv Tlakula said the Electoral Commission appeals to all organs of civil
society in South Africa, including the business community, churches, women's
groups, non-governmental organisations, traditional authorities, schools,
universities, technikons, religious and rural communities, social groups,
sports groups and governmental institutions to join in the efforts of the
Electoral Commission to promote maximum participation in the municipal
elections.
Voters who need more information on the municipal elections such as
confirmation of their registration details, voting stationsâ location or the
different type of ballot papers should contact the IEC Call Centre toll free on
0800 11 8000 or visit the website at http://www.elections.org.za. Voters who want
to know whether they are registered and where they should vote can send an SMS
with their Identity Document number to 32810 or visit any Absa ATM.
For a copy of the election timetable please visit the IEC website. For a
copy of the fact sheet with the requirements for candidate nomination please
contact Lydia Young.
For media queries please contact: Lydia Young
Media Liaison Officer
Cell: 082 650 8652
Issued by: Electoral Commission
10 January 2006
