According to Mr Quincy Sedisa of the IEC, several political parties have registered and put out candidates for whom residents can vote. Some of the parties only have candidates in certain wards.
The political parties with candidates in our area are, in alphabetical order, the African Christian Democratic Party, African Independent Congress, African National Congress, African Transfor-mation Movement, Congress of the People, Democratic Alliance, Economic Freedom Fighters, Forum 4 Service Delivery, Inkatha Freedom Party, International Revelation Congress, Justice And Employment Party, Merafong Agents Of Change, National Freedom Party, Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, Patriotic Alliance, United Christian Democratic Party, United Democratic Movement and Vryheidsfront Plus.
According to the IEC and municipality, there has been a series of training for IEC staff to ensure that the elections are held efficiently and seamlessly by people who are skilled and knowledgeable. Saturday, 30 and Sunday, 31 October are set for special votes and 1 November is the actual voting day.
Special votes can be cast between 08:00 and 17:00 on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, the voting stations open at 07:00 and only close at 21:00.
All registered voters are encou- raged to use the public holiday as an opportunity to go and exercise their democratic right to cast their ballots. This will give Merafong City residents a chance to elect a new leadership and influence service delivery in the area.
The community of Merafong City is assured that safety and security plans are in place. The South African Police Services (SAPS) and the Merafong City Public Safety Department will jointly be visible in all the voting stations during voting days. Merafong City has 76 voting stations and all are included in the security plan.
In areas without community halls or -facilities, tents will be erected to provide shelter. During that weekend’s process, all Covid-19 protocols will be observed.
As these are local elections, the community should know that all voters must vote in the wards where they are registered. If voters consider travelling out of the city, they cannot transfer their votes to voting stations away from their designated wards.
