Electoral Court order on Tlokwe by-elections

The Electoral Commission has noted the orders of the Electoral Court that, among others, the by-elections scheduled to take place tomorrow in Wards 1, 4, 11, 12, 18 and 20 of the Tlokwe Municipality be postponed.

In line with these orders, voting stations in these wards will not open tomorrow and the Electoral Commission advises all affected voters not to visit these voting stations.

The Electoral Commission is currently considering the wider implications of the judgment and taking advice on the matter and will communicate any further decisions to all stakeholders as soon as possible.

Update

Postponement of by-elections on 24 February 2016

The Electoral Commission has decided to postpone all by-elections scheduled to take place tomorrow in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, North West and the Western Cape.

The Electoral Commission took the decision following the orders of the Electoral Court today to postpone by-elections in six of the seven wards scheduled to take place in Tlokwe, North West tomorrow.

While the orders only related to the six wards in Tlokwe listed in the court application, the Electoral Commission considered a postponement in the interest of free and fair elections noting that all by-elections share similar circumstances as those ordered for a postponement by the court. 

The Electoral Commission will therefore request the relevant MECs to postpone these by-elections in terms of Section 8 of the Local Government: Municipal Electoral Act 2000. 

The Electoral Commission will communicate any further decisions to all stakeholders regarding these by-elections in due course.

Statements issued by the Electoral Commission 23 February 2016