The Electoral Court has postponed by-elections that were scheduled for the 13th of May in George in the Southern Cape. The postponement is a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The court granted the urgent application of the Electoral Commission to postpone all by-elections scheduled for March, April and May in the country, along with associated activities including voter registration initiatives.
We welcome the Electoral Court’s decision today to postpone all scheduled by-elections scheduled for March, April & May, incl. voter registration, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit https://t.co/FQ7eKDa9KA for details on the affected wards and by-elections.
— IEC South Africa (@IECSouthAfrica) March 19, 2020
The court ruled that the by-elections could be held beyond the 90 days legislated period for the filling of councillor vacancies. The court further ruled that it, however, could not be held beyond 120 days from the date of the order.
The Electoral Commission says it will monitor the developments over COVID-19 and make further announcements regarding the rescheduling of the by-elections.
Meanwhile, 8 provinces have outstanding by-elections.
As SABC News Ntlantla Kgatlhane reports, the 2021 local government elections might be rescheduled if the virus persists:
