The 2016 Local Government elections are on their way. Those standing for election will be looking for your vote – but how do you know if they're up to the job?
The 2016 Local Government elections are on their way. Those standing for election will be looking for your vote – but how do you know if they're up to the job?
The Centre for Accountable Governance (CAG) and MCSC have created pamphlets to answer the simple question: "What makes a councillor capable?"
In it, you'll find all kinds of information about what councillors need to be able to do, what is required of them and what sorts of skills they must have.
Plus, if you missed out on last weekend's voter registration drive, don't worry.
If you are 16 or over, you can still register to vote by going to your local IEC office with your:
•green, bar-coded ID book; or
•smartcard ID; or
•valid Temporary Identity Certificate (TIC).
Find out everything you need to know here.
http://www.elections.org.za/content/For-Voters/How-do-I-register-/
We don't yet know exactly when the local elections will be – some time between 18 May and 16 August 2016. It's important to vote and, therefore, it's important to register.
There is a lot of information about the 2016 Local Government Elections on the IEC's website. For instance, did you know:
•All municipalities are governed by municipal councils which are elected every five years.
•The councils of metropolitan and local municipalities are elected by a system of proportional representation, while the councils of district municipalities are partly elected by proportional representation and partly appointed by the councils of the constituent local municipalities.
•Therefore at local government or municipal elections the voters have three ballot papers: one to vote for a candidate for ward councillor, one to vote for a party for the council of the local municipality, and one to vote for a party for the council of the district municipality (if they live in a local municipality).
•Most municipal councils are managed by an executive committee, elected executive mayor and a municipal manager.
•Municipal demarcation and delimitation:
The process of electoral management is quite a complex one, and there is perhaps nothing more complex than the process of redrawing ward and voting district boundaries before a municipal election.In South Africa different agencies have different roles to play in this process, including the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), the Members of the Executive Council (MECs), the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB), and the Electoral Commission. The process is effectively a relay in which every agency has defined legal functions which are true to that office only.
•In deciding on boundaries, the MDB considers factors like: •Existing municipal and provincial boundaries;
•Existing functional boundaries, for example, voting districts, magisterial districts, census boundaries and police districts;
•The movement of people, and the existence of employment and services in the area;
•The financial and administrative ability of a municipality to carry out municipal functions;
•The need for co-ordinated municipal, provincial and national programmes, for example, around health care;
•The need to combine neighbouring areas into integrated municipalities;
•Geographical and environmental factors.
Source: www.elections.org.za
Read more here: http://www.elections.org.za/content/Elections/2016-Municipal-Elections/Home/
