R500 fine: Joburg cracks down on election posters

Wednesday marks the 14^th day since the 29 May general elections concluded.

The City of Johannesburg has issued a notice to political parties to dismantle their campaign equipment, including posters, in compliance with the municipal regulations.

Parties that fail to comply will be subject to a fine of R500 for each poster found.

ALSO READ: Academic claims X account hacked after death threats issued against Zuma

Election posters and advertising by-laws

According to the City’s Outdoor Advertising by-laws (2009), political parties are responsible for removing campaign posters within 14 days after the election or voter registration.

The by-laws state: “Any poster contemplated here above, must be removed by the person displaying it within fourteen (14) days after conclusion of the election or voter registration, failing which, the council shall within 14 days after the conclusion of the election or voter registration notify the relevant party to remove the posters within a time period specified, failing which, the council may remove the posters itself against a prescribed fee of R500 per poster payable by the relevant party.”

The Metropolitan Police By-law Unit will enforce the removal of posters and issue fines to defaulting parties.

ALSO READ: EFF suffers another court blow, set to approach Constitutional Court

During elections, the city’s streets are adorned with colorful campaign posters, but if left unchecked, they become an eyesore and detract from the city’s aesthetic appeal.

“In terms of sections 8 (1) (J) and 8 (2) (C) and (D) that read with the provisions of Section 27 of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality Outdoor Advertising by-laws (2009), before the elections the city is able to waive the provisions of Section 3 of the by-laws and invoke Section 8(1) (J) of the City of Johannesburg Outdoor Advertising By-law (2009) in order to ensure that political campaigns are not curtailed,” Virgil James said on behalf of the city.

Furthermore, this means that political parties and independent candidates registered with the Electoral Commission of South Africa are exempt from complying with Section 3 of the City of Johannesburg Outdoor Advertising By-Law (2009), which requires submission of applications and payment of fees to display campaign posters.

ALSO READ: GNU: Parties need to ‘tone down’ issues or SA loses – analyst