The country has begun preparations in earnest for the upcoming local government elections on 4 November.

Political parties are already busy with visible preparations and campaigns whilst it is important, and necessary, for the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to inform and prepare voters for this important seventh election since 1994.

The IEC launched its national campaign for the November elections on 27 May and has since been conducting nationwide election workshops for the country’s media and hundreds of journalists who will be reporting on the upcoming election.

The Western Cape’s turn came earlier this week (Tuesday 2 June) during an event in Cape Town. It was attended by representatives from the province’s media, non-governmental organisations, the IEC’s deputy chairperson, Janet Love, and various expert speakers.

Representatives from the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF), the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and non-governmental organisations such as Africa Check, which promotes accuracy in public debates and the media, stressed the importance of a free and fair election and highlighted the role of the media.

According to these role players, the spread and use of “fake news” and especially the misuse of social media to influence voters are some of the biggest obstacles in the run-up to this year’s election.

In an interview with Weslander, Michael Hendrickse, the IEC’s electoral officer in the Western Cape, confirmed the IEC’s provincial readiness.

According to him, crime is a nationwide problem. “We take this into account with our preparation for the election and work together with law enforcement as part of our planning regarding the crime situation and where the high-risk areas are.”

Hendrickse said the West Coast is well organised for the upcoming election. “Workshops with officials show everything is in place. However, population growth in the Saldanha Bay municipal area creates challenges because the area has two new wards. This affects the IEC because we now have to deploy more polling stations and there are two additional ward elections.”

Hendrickse also appealed to voters to register for the November election on 20 and 21 June. “Come out and make your vote count. It starts with registering. New residents in the West Coast must also make sure they re-register, because you can only vote where you are registered.”

The importance of the upcoming election was also stressed by Motalatale Modiba from SALGA in an interview with Weslander. “Local governments are where service delivery happens and is an important building block for democracy. The upcoming election offers residents the opportunity and choice to determine who will determine the relevant municipalities’ direction and decisions for the next five years.”

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According to Modiba, several lessons have been learnt since the first local government election 30 years ago. “It is time to look at especially the current funding model for municipalities. Municipalities were supposed to function financially independently. This has not happened. It is clear that municipalities can no longer all be tarred with the same brush, especially in rural areas where municipalities struggle to survive and deliver services. Local governments receive only about 10% of the national budget, but are responsible for nearly 50% of functions and services. This must be revised.”

Modiba said that coalitions in local governments are beneficial if they focus on good and effective service delivery, instead of the retention of power.

In 2000 the country had only 29 coalitions in local governments. This number has risen sharply to 70 in 2021, most of which were formed in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

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