Political parties are in various stages of their respective selection processes.

The EFF’s Enos Sebesho told the Middelburg Observer on Tuesday that the party will be contesting in all of the town’s 29 wards, leaving 23 seats open to proportional party candidates.

Mr Sebesho says the EFF will first establish solid branches in all of the wards, where candidates will be selected by their own constituencies.

“Our candidates will be recommended by the branches, where after a final decision will be taken, the process of branch formation is well underway,” Mr Sebesho said from eMalahleni, where the EFF was contesting two by-elections this week.

The DA’s legislature member Mr Bosman Grobler, who will be contesting the leadership battle in Mpumalanga on October 10, says the party’s online applications have already opened.

The applications will be followed by interviews and a vetting process to ensure prospective councillors don’t have criminal records and comply with other regulations.

In conclusion, the shortlisted candidates will face the electoral college of the DA for final selection.

The Freedom Front Plus will have a management meeting this coming weekend, after which the party will announce its list for Steve Tshwete, Councillor Johan Duvenhage told the paper.

The FF+ will not contest all the wards, but the party believes its candidates are of such high calibre that the wards the FF+ do contest, can be won.

In the last elections, the DA experienced a massive drop in support, with the FF+ gaining the DA’s lost votes.

The massive drop in support spurred the DA to apologise to its electorate and launched investigations into the party’s participation on various racially divisive campaigns, like its biased reaction towards the controversial coffin case saga.

The DA will also face a new nemesis in the newly formed Middelburg and Hendrina Resident’s Front, headed by two former ANC mayors, Mr Ben Mokoena and Mr Mike Masina, with their table of respected community leaders like Thato Mathunyane, Kgosi Makwati, Sipho Masimula, Jomo Segage and Chriswel Shabangu.

The MHRF has already confirmed that it will contest the municipal elections, which could also prove a bane for the ANC.
Ultimately it will be the ANC against the rest.

ANC Chief Whip Ms Semakaleng Nkadimeng told the paper that the ANC has not started with its nomination process, which will be handled by the branches.
The community will ultimately accept or reject the respective nominations.

“We are positive that the ANC will retain power with the majority of support,” Ms Nkadimeng fired the first salvo at the MHRF.
The power, however, rests with the public and all parties said they would canvas vigorously for a good voter turnout.