Date set for local government elections

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday evening announced that the local government elections will take place on October 27.

This will be the sixth time under South Africa's democratic dispensation that voters will elect leadership and public representatives at metropolitan, district and local level.

In recent weeks there have been calls by various quarters for local government elections to be postponed this year due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

According to a statement issued by the presidency, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-zuma, will follow the necessary legal process to proclaim the date and undertake other requirements.

Ramaphosa urged eligible voters to ensure they were registered to participate in the upcoming elections.

Furthermore, in January Ramaphosa signed a Proclamation on the Commencement of the Political Party Funding Act, 2018 (Act no. 6 of 2018), which regulates public and private funding of political parties.

The act establishes funds to provide political parties represented in Parliament and legislatures with funding to undertake their work and it also requires that donations be disclosed by parties and donors to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

The act prohibits donations to parties by foreign governments or agencies, foreign persons or entities, organs of state or state-owned enterprises.

According to the presidency, parties may however receive funding from foreign entities for training, skills development or policy development.

No member of a political party may receive a donation other than for political party purposes.