Over 200 000 registered voters in 25 wards throughout all nine provinces go to the polls tomorrow to elect municipal councillors.
The scale of the by-elections – which includes by-elections in a number of wards in metro councils in Johannesburg, Tshwane, Cape Town, Nelson Mandela Bay and Mangaung – makes tomorrow’s elections one of the largest mobilisation of voters outside of general elections.
The Electoral Commission manages an average of approximately 130 by-elections a year. By-elections are held when ward councillors vacate their seats for a variety of reasons including death, resignation or expulsion from the party or the council.
Contributing to the recent increase in by-elections has been the election of municipal councillors to provincial and national legislatures after the 7 May elections.
Of the 25 vacancies being contested tomorrow, 12 are as a result of candidates being elected to the national and provincial legislatures in May. In the previous by-elections of 2 July 2014, six of the 20 vacancies were also as a result of councillors being elected to the national and provincial legislatures.
Voting stations will be open from 07h00 to 21h00 except in ward 11 in Port St Johns [Port St Johns] – EC154 where the voting hours are from 07h00 to 19h00. A total of 214 861 voters are registered in the 124 voting districts where by-elections will be taking place.
Tomorrow’s by-elections will be contested by 62 candidates, representing 12 political parties and four (4) independent candidates. Three by-elections are uncontested.
Four (4) by-elections will take place in the Eastern Cape:
• Ward 10 in Ndlambe [Port Alfred] Municipality – EC105 will be contested by Mzoli Abraham Luzipo of the African National Congress; and Raymond Lionel Schenk of the Democratic Alliance. The ward was previously represented by the Democratic Alliance and became vacant as a result of the councillor being elected to represent the party in the Provincial Legislature.
The voter turnout for this ward in the 2011 municipal elections was 67.16%.
• Ward 11 in Port St Johns [Port St Johns] Municipality – EC154 will be contested by Masixole Hobo of the African National Congress; Zolile Mokweni of the Economic Freedom Fighters; and Cromwell Sipho Mkalali of the United Democratic Movement. The ward was previously represented by the African National Congress and became vacant as a result of the death of the councillor.
The voter turnout for this ward in the 2011 municipal elections was 57.18%.
• Ward 10 in Nelson Mandela Bay [Port Elizabeth] – NMA will be contested by William Peter Bense of the African National Congress; Anita Jeanette Smith of the Congress of the People; and Andy George Jordan of the Democratic Alliance. The ward was previously represented by the Democratic Alliance and became vacant as a result of the councillor being elected to represent the party in the Provincial Legislature.
The voter turnout for this ward in the 2011 municipal elections was 65.34%.
• Ward 40 in Nelson Mandela Bay [Port Elizabeth] – NMA will be contested by Thozamile Qushani of the African National Congress; Margaret Hombakazi Befile of the Congress of the People; and Dacre Berrangé Haddon of the Democratic Alliance. The ward was previously represented by the Democratic Alliance and became vacant as a result of the councillor being elected to represent the party in the Provincial Legislature.
The voter turnout for this ward in the 2011 municipal elections was 63.85%.
Two (2) by-elections will take place in the Free State:
• Ward 17 in Moqhaka [Kroonstad] Municipality – FS201 will be contested by Puseletso Maria Masisi of the African National Congress; Johan Geldenhuis of the Democratic Alliance; and Pieter Johannes Gryffenberg of the Vryheidsfront Plus. The ward was previously represented by the Democratic Alliance and became vacant as a result of the resignation of the councillor.
The voter turnout for this ward in the 2011 municipal elections was 66.97%.
• Ward 24 in Mangaung Metropolitan [Bloemfontein] Municipality – MAN will be contested by Kgotso Charles Tau of the African National Congress; Gerhardus Dirk Petrus Kotzé of the Democratic Alliance; and Elizabeth Snyman-Van Deventer of the Vryheidsfront Plus. The ward was previously represented by the Democratic Alliance and became vacant as a result of the resignation of the councillor.
The voter turnout for this ward in the 2011 municipal elections was 70.51%.
Three (3) by-elections will take place in Gauteng:
• Ward 32 in the City of Johannesburg [Johannesburg] Municipality – JHB will be contested by Tebogo Sithathu of the African National Congress; Bongani Nkomo of the Democratic Alliance; and Thobekile Xaba of the Inkatha Freedom Party. The ward was previously represented by the Democratic Alliance and became vacant as a result of the councillor being elected to represent the party in the National Assembly.
The voter turnout for this ward in the 2011 municipal elections was 58.87%.
• Ward 90 in the City of Johannesburg [Johannesburg] Municipality – JHB will be contested by Joy Myrna Coplan of the African National Congress; and Anthony William Still of the Democratic Alliance. The ward was previously represented by the Democratic Alliance and became vacant as a result of the councillor being elected to represent the party in the National Assembly.
The voter turnout for this ward in the 2011 municipal elections was 59.74%.
• Ward 52 in Tshwane Metropolitan [Pretoria] Municipality – TSH will be contested by Jan Carl Kruger, an independent candidate; Rensche Leondri Bell of the African National Congress; Frans Johannes Smith of the Democratic Alliance; and Given Mmutle Moeketsi of the Inkatha Freedom Party. The ward was previously represented by the Democratic Alliance and became vacant as a result of the councillor being elected to represent the party in the Provincial Legislature.
The voter turnout for this ward in the 2011 municipal elections was 73.20%.
One (1) by-election will take place in KwaZulu-Natal:
• Ward 4 in Indaka [Waaihoek] Municipality – KZN233 will be contested by Siyabonsa Zablon Sibisi, an independent candidate; Mzwandile Beatus Mbhele of the African National Congress; Nelisiwe Gladness Magubane of the Inkatha Freedom Party; and Vusumuzi Joseph Xulu of the National Freedom Party. The ward was previously represented by the Inkatha Freedom Party and became vacant as a result of the termination of the councillor’s membership by the party.
The voter turnout for this ward in the 2011 municipal elections was 63.33%.
Two (2) by-elections will take place in Limpopo:
• Ward 20 in Polokwane [Pietersburg] Municipality – LIM354 will be contested by Mosenyi Noah Mamabolo of the African National Congress; and Hermanus Frans Marx of the Democratic Alliance. The ward was previously represented by the Democratic Alliance and became vacant as a result of the councillor being elected to represent the party in the Provincial Legislature.
The voter turnout for this ward in the February 2012 by-election was 23.99%.
• Ward 23 in Polokwane [Pietersburg] Municipality – LIM354 will be contested by Mankwai Dorcus Mogano of the African National Congress; and Roelof Frederik Lourens of the Democratic Alliance. The ward was previously represented by the Democratic Alliance and became vacant as a result of the resignation of the councillor.
The voter turnout for this ward in the 2011 municipal elections was 42.17%.
Two (2) by-elections are scheduled to take place in Mpumalanga of which one is uncontested:
• Michael Petros Ntuli of the African National Congress is the only candidate contesting Ward 2 in Emakhazeni [Belfast] Municipality – MP314. The ward was previously represented by the African National Congress and became vacant as a result of the termination of the councillor’s membership by the party.
• Ward 14 in Thaba Chweu [Sabie] Municipality – MP321 will be contested by Rina Hellen Thenjekwayo of the African National Congress; and Willem Karel De Jongh of the Democratic Alliance. The ward was previously represented by the Democratic Alliance and became vacant as a result of the resignation of the councillor.
The voter turnout for this ward in the 2011 municipal elections was 52.92%.
Four (4) by-elections will take place in North West of which two are uncontested:
• Cornelius Nthapeleng Morei of the African National Congress is the only candidate contesting Ward 6 in Rustenburg [Rustenburg] Municipality – NW373. The ward was previously represented by the African National Congress and became vacant as a result of the death of the councillor.
• Joseph Ditsheko Ngwato of the African National Congress is the only candidate contesting Ward 12 in Rustenburg [Rustenburg] Municipality – NW373. The ward was previously represented by African National Congress and became vacant as a result of the death of the councillor.
• Ward 25 in Rustenburg [Rustenburg] Municipality – NW373 will be contested by Joseph Scotch Thihira, an independent candidate; William Mandla Mangweni of the African National Congress; and Susan Adeline Mosito of the African People’s Convention. The ward was previously represented by an independent candidate and became vacant as a result of the resignation of the councillor.
The voter turnout for this ward in the 2011 municipal elections was 58.18%.
• Ward 22 in Tlokwe [Potchefstroom] Municipality – NW402 will be contested by Huibrecht Catharina Stoltz of the African National Congress; and Sandra Britz of the Democratic Alliance. The ward was previously represented by the Democratic Alliance and became vacant as a result of the councillor being elected to represent the party in the National Assembly.
The voter turnout for this ward in the 2011 municipal elections was 48.40%.
Two (2) by-elections will take place in the Northern Cape:
• Ward 4 in NAMA KHOI [Springbok] Municipality – NC062 will be contested by Ida Salona of the African National Congress; and Rodney Kritzinger of the Democratic Alliance. The ward was previously represented by the Democratic Alliance and became vacant as a result of the resignation of the councillor.
The voter turnout for this ward in the 2011 municipal elections was 67.43%.
• Ward 11 in KHARA HAIS [Upington] Municipality – NC083 will be contested by Maria Bosman of the African National Congress; and Ragel Maria Matthys of the Democratic Alliance. The ward was previously represented by the African National Congress and became vacant as a result of the death of the councillor.
The voter turnout for this ward in the 2011 municipal elections was 74.30%.
Five (5) by-elections will take place in the Western Cape:
• Ward 5 in the City of Cape Town [Cape Town] Municipality – CPT will be contested by Thando Dedezane of the African National Congress; and Helen Carstens of the Democratic Alliance. The ward was previously represented by the Democratic Alliance and became vacant as a result of the councillor being elected to represent the party in the National Assembly.
The voter turnout for this ward in the 2011 municipal elections was 57.61%.
• Ward 54 in the City of Cape Town [Cape Town] Municipality – CPT will be contested by Thandeka Sisusa of the African National Congress; and Jacques David Weber of the Democratic Alliance. The ward was previously represented by the Democratic Alliance and became vacant as a result of the councillor being elected to represent the party in the Provincial Legislature.
The voter turnout for this ward in the 2011 municipal elections was 64.09%.
• Ward 56 in the City of Cape Town [Cape Town] Municipality – CPT will be contested by Shakoor Cupido, an independent candidate; Fidel Issel of the African National Congress; Mugidien Barnes of Al Jama-ah; Lisa Valencia Pauline McBride of the Democratic Alliance; and Moegamat Yasien Mohamed of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania. The ward was previously represented by the Democratic Alliance and became vacant as a result of the councillor being elected to represent the party in the National Assembly.
The voter turnout for this ward in the 2011 municipal elections was 67.44%.
• Ward 10 in Swartland [Malmesbury] Municipality – WC015 will be contested by Willie William van Rooy of the African National Congress; and Lionel Traut of the Democratic Alliance. The ward was previously represented by the Democratic Alliance and became vacant as a result of the councillor being elected to represent the party in the National Assembly.
The voter turnout for this ward in the 2011 municipal elections was 66.14%.
• Ward 13 in Mossel Bay [Mossel Bay] Municipality – WC043 will be contested by Faizell Baselero Porter of the African National Congress; Rosina Henrietta Ruiters of the Democratic Alliance; and Elizabeth Joubert of the Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa. The ward was previously represented by the Democratic Alliance and became vacant as a result of the termination of the councillor’s membership by the party.
The voter turnout for this ward in the 2011 municipal elections was 64.12%.
Voters who need more information on the by-elections should contact their local Municipal Electoral Officer during office hours or visit the IEC website at www.elections.org.za. Contact details for Municipal Electoral Officers are available on the website (contact us).
Registered voters can also SMS their ID number to 32810 to check whether their registration details are correct.
ISSUED BY THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION
Ensuring free, fair and credible elections
Centurion
12 August 2014
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