New Age2.png All systems go for local government elections and after Andries Nel, The New Age, Johannesburg, 25 July 2016 When voting stations open at 7am on August 3, the country will be holding its fourth fully democratic local government elections. We have held five national-provincial and four local government elections since 1994. All have been accepted as free and fair, a credible expressions of the will of the South African people and a cause for celebration. Our democracy is consolidating and growing stronger. The strength and resilience of democracies is tested not by the absence of challenges but how democratic institutions and processes deal with the challenges that will inevitably arise. Our electoral processes and institutions have continued to grow stronger and more effective based on the experience of each successive election. 26 million voters, 200 parties, sixty thousand candidates There are now 26.3 million registered voters on our national voters roll and will vote at 22 612 voting stations staffed by more than 220000 electoral officials under the watchful eye of thousands of party agents and independent observers. Our electoral system is robust, transparent and filled with checks and balances that have made it an international example. Two hundred political parties and many independent candidates will be contesting. A total of 61 014 candidates will be standing, 25 890 candidates in 4392 wards and 34 293 candidates on proportional lists. This is up from 79 parties and 30 000 candidates in the first democratic local government elections in 2000. 1.2 million new voters registered, 80% of them under 30 Despite predictions of voter apathy, more than three million South Africans visited the IEC during the two open registration weekends earlier this year. It is especially encouraging that a record 1.2 million new voters registered. Eight out of every ten of these voters was under the age of 30. The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Local Government Elections chaired by the Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs has been working hard to ensure conditions conducive to free and fair elections. The government is very concerned about anything that could impact negatively on the right of any voter to exercise his or her fundamental right to vote. The government is particularly concerned by any manifestation of violence, be it caused by tensions between parties, within parties, violent protest or criminal activity. Killing of ANC candidates They are very concerned by the killing of more than 12 ANC candidates. The Minister of Police has established a task team to investigate these, and other terrible incidents. The government's justice, crime prevention and security cluster has done a thorough risk analysis of all 22 612 voting stations and is implementing operational and deployment plans accordingly. Special attention is being paid to known "hot spots" where disruptions occurred during voter registration weekends. The police, prosecuting authority, legal aid and the judiciary have made arrangements similar to those that applied during the 2010 World Cup to ensure that election related matters are dealt with quickly. One death is one death too many. One violation of the Electoral Code is one violation too many. However, it is only a tiny percentage of the 22 612 voting stations that have experienced these problems. Code of Conduct All parties, candidates and their supporters are urged to adhere to the Electoral Code of Conduct. The IEC has set up conflict resolution panels in all provinces to mediate disputes. It has also established a Directorate for Electoral Offences to investigate any allegations of contraventions of the Electoral Code of Conduct. The Chief Electoral Officer has wide powers to enforce the provisions of the Code, including the disqualification of parties or candidates. The government has been working hard to ensure a smooth transition to the next local government administration to ensure that local government hits the ground working and delivering. The induction and training of newly elected councillors will be based on the government's Back to Basics programme. Consolidation These elections signal the further consolidation and strengthening of local government system and the building of people's power in every community. Twenty-two years ago South Africa had a disparate, divided and divisive system of over a thousand local government entities: white municipalities, black local authorities, bantustan structures, and assorted other "toy telephones." We now have "wall-to-wall" coverage by 278 democratically elected municipalities that are constitutionally mandated to ensure delivery of basic services, local economic development, building of cohesive communities and community involvement in local government. Less municipalities, more wards As part of the ongoing consolidation of the local government sphere the number of municipalities will be reduced from 278 to 257 after the elections. This was done by the Municipal Demarcation Board to enhance the viability and efficiency of these municipalities. There will be eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district and 205 local municipalities. The decrease in the number of municipalities has, however, been accompanied by an increase in the number of wards (up to 4 392 from 4 277 in 2011) and voting districts (up to 22 612 from 20859 in 2011). This was done to ensure the quality of representation in local government. Let us exercise our right to vote on August 3. Let us vote in peace. Let us celebrate our democracy and the better life that we are building. Let us build people's power in every community. Local government is in our hands! . Andries Nel is Deputy Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (responsible for provincial and local government) From: http://tnaepaper.co.za/DRIVE/main%20edition/25072016/epaperpdf/5.pdf __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 13854 (20160725) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. 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