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 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