National and provincial elections versus municipal elections: What’s the difference?
This month 27.79 million registered voters will head to the polls to exercise their democratic rights and make their mark about the future of South Africa.
On May 29, registered voters will head for the polls in the 2024 national and provincial elections.
The IEC says that this year, the 27.79 million registered voters will receive three ballot papers to elect candidates to represent them in the National Assembly and Provincial Legislatures.
National and provincial elections
These will be the seventh democratic elections, following the last national and provincial elections held on May 8, 2019.
The national and provincial elections are two separate elections held on the same day.
The first ballot is the National Ballot, comprising a list of parties contesting 200 of the 400 seats in parliament.
The remaining 200 seats will be determined by the Regional Ballot, consisting of political parties and independent candidates contesting the seats reserved for each province in the National Assembly.
The third ballot is the Provincial Ballot, which is unique to each province and includes parties and individual candidates contesting for seats in each of South Africa’s provincial legislatures.
The national elections will decide the seats in the National Assembly, which elects the president and makes laws for the country.
The provincial elections will decide the seats in each provincial legislature, and provincial government led by the Premier and Members of the Executive Council (MECs).
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Municipal elections and by-elections
Municipal elections are held every five years, the last having taken place on November 1, 2021.
These elections allow voters to choose representatives and political parties who represent them in a municipal council.
These councillors are responsible for improving communities and delivering services to everyone in their area.
The council is also responsible for promulgating and overseeing the implementation of by-laws.
These local councillors are in a good position to understand the communities and their needs and provide services such as electricity, water, sanitation, transport and refuse removal.
The IEC says Tshwane is one of the eight metropolitan council municipalities in South Africa, divided into wards, which are represented in the Metro’s council.
There are two ballots in the municipal elections, one for a political party to represent you on the council, and another for a political party or individual to represent your ward on the council.
By-elections are held in wards between municipal elections. If the IEC does not declare the result of an election within a specified period, a court sets aside the election of a council or ward, the council is dissolved, or a ward vacancy occurs.
A vacancy can occur by the death, resignation or expulsion of a ward councillor from their party or council.
ALSO READ: Election Calendar: All systems go as May 29 approaches
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