A Record 200 Parties Registered for 2016 Elections in SA
A record 200 parties and 61,014 candidates – aged 18 to 90 – will contest the 3 August municipal elections, about 65 percent more parties and 12 percent more candidates than the municipal elections of 2011, according to the Electoral Commission (IEC). In a statement released on Wednesday, the IEC gave the following data: – There are a total of 4,649 unique […]
A record 200 parties and 61,014 candidates – aged 18 to 90 – will contest the 3 August municipal elections, about 65 percent more parties and 12 percent more candidates than the municipal elections of 2011, according to the Electoral Commission (IEC).
In a statement released on Wednesday, the IEC gave the following data:
– There are a total of 4,649 unique ballot papers for the election:
- 4,392 ward ballot papers
- 205 local council Proportional Representation (PR) ballot papers
- 8 metro council PR ballot papers
- 44 District Council ballot papers.
– The following is a breakdown of the growth in parties and candidates contesting municipal elections since 2000:
Election Party PR Party Ward Independent Total % change for total
2000 16 156 13 236 689 30 081 n/a
2006 21 498 23 028 663 45 189 +50%
2011 23 303 29 700 754 53 757 +19%
2016 25 890 34 293 831 61 014 +12%
– The provincial breakdown for 2016:
Province PR Ward Independent Grand Total
Eastern Cape 4,024 4,210 160 8,394
Free State 1,721 2,193 82 3,996
Gauteng 3,287 5,539 71 8,897
KwaZulu-Natal 4,099 6,075 201 10,375
Limpopo 3,946 5,046 95 9,087
Mpumalanga 2,498 2,889 41 5,428
North West 2,463 2,706 78 5,247
Northern Cape 1,159 1,124 44 2,327
Western Cape 2,693 4,511 59 7,263
Grand Total 25,890 34,293 831 61,014
Of the candidates contesting the elections approximately 60 percent are male and 40 percent are female. The province with the highest percentage of women candidates is Limpopo province (43 percent) followed by the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape provinces (both at 42 percent) and then the Free State province (41 percent). The province with the lowest percentage of women candidates is KwaZulu-Natal province with 34 percent.
In terms of age, the average age of candidates is 44 years old (compared to 43 years in 2011). The youngest candidate is an 18-year-old first-time voter who is standing for election in Ward 5 (EC 153) in Ingquza Hill Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape. The oldest candidate is 90 years old and is standing for election on the PR list in EC 443 in Mbizana Local Municipality, also in the Eastern Cape.
The number of candidates contesting per province is as follows:
– Province Total number of candidates (incl. independents)
2016 Municipal Elections 2011 Municipal Elections
Eastern Cape: 8 394 7 239
Free State: 3 996 3 284
Gauteng: 8 897 9 034
KwaZulu-Natal: 10 375 10 412
Limpopo: 9 087 6 660
Mpumalanga: 5 428 4 378
North West 5 247 4 045
Northern Cape: 2 327 1 600
Western Cape: 7 263 7 105
Total: 61 014 53 757