The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has today, 20 September 2021, gazetted the date of the municipal elections scheduled for 01 November 2021. This will be the sixth municipal election held in South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994.

To comply with statutory and constitutional obligations, the Minister has to gazette the date of the coming elections. The gazette was done as per Constitution, section 159 read with the Municipal Structures Act, which prescribes that at the end of a five-year term of local government, elections must be held within a period of 90 days.

Gazzeting of the election date means that the IEC will seal the voters’ roll. The gazzeting of the date is taking us a step closer to voting day. We urge all South Africans who will be embarking on campaignings and canvassing for votes to do so responsibly, while respecting the Covid regulations and protocols.

Once the election results are confirmed, councils for all 48 districts, 8 metropolitan and 207 local municipalities in each of the country's nine provinces will be elected.

With the gazzeting done, we are now all looking towards voting day. We urge all South Africans to ensure peaceful, credible, free and fair municipal elections.

Our actions have thus far proved true our noble intentions to keep the flame of democracy burning by voting on 01 November 2021.

With the voters roll sealed, I hope that South Africans, especially the women, youth, persons with disabilities and people in rural areas under different traditional authorities had an opportunity to register.

Minister also thanked citizens who made sure that they are registered and that their names appear in the voters roll after the registration weekend of 18 & 19 September 2021. We are encouraged by the numbers of citizens who went out to over 23 000 voting stations to register to vote on 01 November 2021. The IEC will over the course of the week release the actual statistics and the status of our voters roll.

We are all looking forward to a free and fair Local Government Election, come 01 November 2021.

Issued by Lungi Mtshali on behalf of Department of Cooperative Governance, 20 September 2021