South Africans will vote on 1 November for their councillors in the 2021 local government elections. Picture: @IECSouthAfrica/Twitter
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) is briefing the media this afternoon on the election programme leading up to this year’s local government elections.
The briefing is expected to start at 3pm.
The press conference follows the Constitutional Court’s (ConCourt’s) judgment on Friday, which dismissed the IEC’s application to postpone the polls to February 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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The dismissal of the IEC’s application means the commission is now required to ensure it prepares for an election to be held before 1 November.
In its order, the ConCourt also directed the IEC to determine whether it is practically possible to hold a voter registration weekend before 27 October, the scheduled date for the municipal elections.
During its briefing, the IEC is expected to provide clarity on whether it would reopen the candidate registration process after some parties, notably the ANC, missed its initial deadline to register its candidates in several municipalities.
The ConCourt judgment was silent on this matter.
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