Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma
Members of the media,
Fellow compatriots,
Good afternoon.
At the conclusion of our first democratic election in 1994, President Nelson Mandela said: “Out of the experience of an extraordinary human disaster that lasted too long, must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud.” Today we are once again confronted by extraordinary circumstances which have been occasioned by the silent enemy called COVID-19. We proudly take this opportunity to recognise the sterling efforts of our health care workers, who have literally placed their lives on the line to save our lives and livelihoods.
Compatriots you will also recall that the Constitution section 159 read with the Municipal Structures Act prescribes that at the end of a five-year term of local government elections must be held within a period of 90 days. Consequently, on the 21st of April President Ramaphosa announced that the local government elections will take place on 27 October this year. To follow up and conclude on this we were to proclaim and Gazzette the date this week.
Given the situation in relation to COVID-19, the IEC appointed retired Deputy Chief Justice Moseneke to consider whether we could undertake free and fair elections during October. The inquiry received over 4 000 submissions from political parties, health experts and the general public, concluding its work and handing the report to the IEC on 20th July.