The countdown for the municipal elections on 18 May 2011 became a reality with the publication of the election timetable in the Government Gazette today, the Chief Electoral Officer, Advocate Pansy Tlakula, said.
"After the proclamation of the election date on 10 March, the commission met representatives of political parties for consultation about the election timetable. The commission subsequently approved the election timetable, which outlines the electoral processes until Election Day," Advocate Tlakula said.
The key dates and activities that are prescribed by the Municipal Electoral Act and the election timetable are the following:
Date: 10 March
Activities: Proclamation calling elections for 18 May 2011
Date: 10 March
Activities: Closure of the voters’ roll to be used in the elections
Date: 11 March
Activities: Consultation with the Party National Liaison Committee about the election timetable
Date: 11 March
Activities: Publication of the election timetable in the Gazette
Advocate Tlakula said that the election timetable outlines and gives time frames for the following processes:
Date: 18 March
Activities: Certification of the Voters’ Roll to be used for the 2011 municipal elections and making those segments available for inspection
Date: 25 March by 17h00
Activities: Notification to the IEC by political parties and independent candidates of their intention to participate in the municipal elections
Date: 25 March by 17h00
Activities: Nomination of ward candidates by parties and nominators of independent candidates, submission of party lists of candidates and payment of deposits
Date: 4 April
Activities: Notification to a party or independent candidate of non-compliance regarding outstanding documents
Date: 8 April by 17h00
Activities: Submission to the IEC by a party and independent ward candidate of outstanding documents
Date: 12 April
Activities: Compilation by the IEC of a list of the parties contesting the elections and the certification of their candidates’ lists
Date: 12 April
Activities: Compilation by the IEC of lists of candidates contesting each ward
Date: 15 April
Activities: Starting date for the submission of applications for special votes
Date: 21 April
Activities: Notification by the IEC that copies of a list of voting stations and their addresses are available at municipal offices
Date: 21 April
Activities: Notification by the IEC of the routes for mobile voting stations including locations and estimated times of stopping
Date: 29 April
Activities: Issuing of certificates by the IEC to persons whose names appear on a party list and to each ward candidate
Date: 3 May at 17h00
Activities: Closure of applications for special votes
Date: 16 May from 08h00 to 17h00
Activities: Casting of special votes by registered voters who qualify to do so at the voting station in the voting district where they are registered
Date: 16 and 17 May from 08h00 to 17h00
Activities: Home visitations for registered voters who qualify to cast a special vote
Advocate Tlakula said that the election timetable gives clarity on every aspect of the electoral process and its key activities as well as the dates on and the times by which they must take place. She emphasised that the election timetable is legally binding on all participants in the elections including the IEC and in particular that there are no discretionary provisions as far as cut-off dates/times are concerned.
Advocate Tlakula said that all registered voters, whose names appear on the certified voters' roll, will be able to vote for the ward candidate and party of their choice at the voting station where they are registered when voting takes place on Wednesday, 18 May 2011.
Voters living in the eight metropolitan councils – Tshwane Metro [Pretoria], City of Johannesburg [Johannesburg], Ekurhuleni [East Rand], Mangaung [Bloemfontein], City of Cape Town [Cape Town], Nelson Mandela [Port Elizabeth], Buffalo City [East London] and Ethekwini [Durban Metro] - will have two votes each. One vote will be for the ward candidate of their choice and the second vote for the party of their choice.
In local councils, voters will get three ballot papers - one vote for the ward candidate of their choice, the second vote for a party of their choice in the local council and a third vote for the party of their choice in the district council.
Advocate Tlakula said that to contest the municipal elections, political parties must be registered with the Electoral Commission by 25 March 2011. This is the date on which parties have to submit their intention to participate in the elections, submit their ward nominations and candidates’ lists as well as pay their deposits.
Advocate Tlakula said that 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 only and are as follows:
- R4 000 per metropolitan council
- R2 500 per local council with wards
- R1 500 per local council without wards and per district council
- R1 000 per independent ward candidate
- R1 000 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.
Advocate Tlakula said a party that would contest elections in all municipalities could field a maximum of 9 086 candidates for direct election and would have to pay deposits totalling R633 000. A deposit paid by a party or ward candidate is refundable if a party is allocated at least one seat in the municipal council or if the ward candidate received at least 10% of the total number of votes cast in the ward election.
Candidates have to be registered voters in the municipality they want to contest.
Advocate Tlakula said the Electoral Commission appeals to all organs of civil society in South Africa, including the business community, faith-based organisations, women's groups, non-governmental organisations, traditional authorities, trade unions, the farming community, schools, universities, civil society organisations, sports groups and governmental institutions to join in the efforts of the Electoral Commission to promote maximum participation in the municipal elections.
She said that voters who need more information on the municipal elections such as confirmation of their registration details and voting station locations should contact the IEC Call Centre (toll free on a landline) at 0800 11 8000 or visit the IEC website at http://www.elections.org.za. Voters who want to know whether they are registered and where they should vote can also send an SMS with their ID number to 32810.
Young voters are encouraged to follow registration and election developments on our newly created mobile site on mobi.elections.org.za or on twitter on http://www.twitter/iecloveyoursa.
For copies of the election timetable and the prescribed forms, please visit the IEC website.
Enquiries:
Kate Bapela
Cell: 082 600 6386
