Municipal by-elections start next month

The first municipal ward by-elections since the nationwide municipal poll in March start next month. The Independent Electoral Commission says the by-elections will take place from the 7th of June in the Western, Eastern and Northern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and North West. Deputy chief electoral officer Mosotho Moepya says a total of 51 candidates, representing 19 political parties, and three independent candidates will contest 14 vacant wards in the provinces. The IEC says voting stations will be open from seven in the morning to nine at night for the more than 85-thousand voters registered at the 75 voting districts where by-elections will be held.