Local elections on May 18

[BBSA]

http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article947132.ece/Local-elections-on-May-18

The local government elections will take place on May 18, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe announced.

Addressing the National Council of Provinces, Motlanthe, who is acting president while President Jacob Zuma is abroad, said the term of municipal councils would end soon.

In terms of the Local Government Municipal Structures Act, "the term of municipal councils is five years, calculated from the day following the date set for the previous election of all municipal councils".

"After consultation with the [Independent] Electoral Commission (IEC), government has set the date for the local government elections as 18 May 2011," he said.

The date would be formally proclaimed by publishing a notice in the Government Gazette within the next week.

It had been decided to announce the date now to give the IEC more certainty and time to prepare for the elections.

Once the election date was gazetted next week, the municipal segment of the voters roll would close.

This meant eligible voters had the last opportunity from Thursday until the proclamation of the election date was published to ensure their names appeared correctly on the voters roll.

"I therefore call upon all South Africans to make full use of the last voter registration weekend of 5-6 March 2011 set by the IEC to ensure that their names appear correctly on the voters roll," Motlanthe said.

Braai day?

 

[gregmcc]

Is it a holiday?

 

[AvatarS]

If I'm not mistaken, it is declared a public holiday, so people have the opportunity to vote which they might miss on a working day.

 

[Sonic2k]

That sucks....
We can ill-afford additional public holidays as it is to our economy... I will definitely be working that day as my employer does not see it in the same light the govt does.

IIRC local elections have in recent years been a non-event, so they had them on weekends. Might be wrong but I haven't voted in years so I cannot be sure.

 

[blunomore]

I feel like giving it a miss this year ....... although this is the ONE TIME in my life that I can proceed straight to the front of the queue !