Fifteen municipal ward by-elections will take place across six provinces on Wednesday, the Electoral Commission of South Africa has said.

These are the first by-elections since the August 3 local government elections.

Sixty-six candidates representing 16 political parties and two independent candidates are contesting.

Nine of the contested wards are in KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and Limpopo. The by-elections there are due to the deaths of councillors.

Eight of the nine wards were won by ANC councillors while Ward 2 in the Kgatelopele municipality in the Northern Cape was won by the Democratic Alliance.

The outcome of the elections in Kgatelopele could help decide who has the majority in the municipality.

The death of the DA councillor Johannes Baatjies left the municipality of the small council hung.

Posthumous victories

The ANC had three seats and a coalition between the DA and the Kgatelopele Community Forum four.

In KwaZulu-Natal the by-elections will be held in Ward 1 in the Umziwabantu municipality, Ward 20 in the Alfred Duma municipality and Ward 6 in the Newcastle municipality after the candidates won their wards posthumously.

Bongani Skhosana, the Umziwabantu municipality candidate, was killed in his car in front of his children as he was about to take them to school.

Khanyisile Sibisi, 41, was shot while on her way to donate goods at a Mandela Day event in Ladysmith.

Thembi Mbongwa, a councillor candidate in eMalahleni, Newcastle, was shot and killed in front of her husband and children.

The deaths occurred in July in the run up to the August 3 local government elections.

In the other six wards the by-election became necessary after the councillors, all ANC members, resigned.

The IEC says voting stations will open from 07:00 and close at 21:00 while elections in Ward 17 in Mbashe municipality as well as Ward 7 in Port St Johns municipality in the Eastern Cape will be held from 07:00 to 19:00.

[Source: News24]