By Naadiya Adams
The Independent Electoral Commission has announced the dates for the voter registration weekend which will be held ahead of the local government election in two months’ time.
The 18 and 19 September 2021 has been provisioned to register new voters. The commission also announced that the candidate registration process will re-open after the poll proclamation.
In preparing to comply with the @ConCourtSA order, the Commission has determined that a registration event is necessary ahead of #LGE2021. Therefore, a #Regweekend is scheduled for 18 & 19 Sept, 8-5. More info at https://t.co/SPWHyOWMld. #EveryVoiceTogether #VoteSafe pic.twitter.com/b8jNMZRjvM
— IEC South Africa (@IECSouthAfrica) September 6, 2021
The IEC Commission is encouraging new voters to register while existing voters should update their details.
The final date for elections has yet to be announced by the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma but according to a Constitutional Court ruling it must take place between October 27th and November 1st 2021.
This after the court dismissed the IEC’s application to have the local government elections postponed. The IEC cited former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke’s report on the matter, as reason for the postponement application, the report found that the elections would not be free and fair if held this year due to restrictions from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The report findings was based on analysis by various scientists and experts in the field, however the court did not see it fit to have the election postponed sending political parties into a tailspin with only two months to hit the election campaign trail.
The IEC also intends to reopen the candidate list process, which was passed in August. The governing ANC missed the deadline to submit its full candidate lists, only managing to submit candidates in 93 of the country’s 278 municipalities, but they are not the only ones as many other parties are in the same boat.
The Democratic Alliance however is one of the few parties who managed to register a candidate in every ward in the country, and they say they are ready for the elections. The opposition party will be opposing the IEC’s decision to re-open the candidates list accusing the commission of favouring the ANC.
President Ramaphosa has since welcomed the IEC decision to re-open the candidate list.
IEC chairperson Glen Mashinini, however, says a new deadline will be set for political parties to submit their candidates’ lists.
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