Electoral court postpones by-elections due to Covid-19
The IEC was granted permission to approach the court again for further or alternative relief, including a further postponement
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has said it welcomes the decision by the Electoral Court to postpone by-elections scheduled for June due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a statement on Tuesday, the IEC said on Tuesday the court granted its application to postpone by-elections scheduled for 3 and 10 June, “along with associated activities including voter registration”.
“The court ruled that the by-elections could be held beyond the 90-day legislated period for the filling of councillor vacancies but not beyond 120 days from the date of the order. The timetable for the by-elections will be revised accordingly,” the statement reads.
The Electoral Court also granted the IEC permission to approach it again for further or alternative relief, including a further postponement should it be necessary.
The postponed by-elections include two in the Rustenburg Municipality, North West, and 25 in the Umzimvubu Municipality, Eastern Cape, both scheduled for 3 June.
Thirteen by-elections were scheduled for 10 June in Amhlathi Municipality, Eastern Cape, as well as six in Walter Sisulu, among others.
Other provinces affected by the postponement are KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and Gauteng.
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