Request to postpone by-elections

The Western Cape Department of Local Government received a request from the Electoral Commission last night to postpone by-elections that had been scheduled to take place in the province today.

The notice by the IEC read as follows:
The Electoral Commission has decided to postpone all by-elections scheduled to take place tomorrow in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, North West and the Western Cape.

The Electoral Commission took the decision following the orders of the Electoral Court today to postpone by-elections in six of the seven wards scheduled to take place in Tlokwe, North West tomorrow.

While the orders only related to the six wards in Tlokwe listed in the court application, the Electoral Commission considered a postponement in the interest of free and fair elections noting that all by-elections share similar circumstances as those ordered for a postponement by the court. 

The Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Anton Bredell, confirmed this morning the postponement of the by-elections in terms of Section 8 of the Local Government: Municipal Electoral Act 2000. 

“The decision will be announced in the provincial government gazette with further information to be shared when it becomes available,” Bredell said.