IEC postpones all by-elections
All by-elections that were scheduled to take place on Wednesday have been cancelled by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).
In a brief statement issued shortly before midnight the IEC announced the cancellation of by-elections in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, North West Province and the Western Cape.
The announcement followed a decision by the Electoral Court earlier on Tuesday to order the postponement of by-elections for six weeks in Wards 1, 4, 11, 13, 18 and 20 in the Tlokwe municipality in the North West Province.
The court set aside the the elections because of questions over the voters roll.
According to the Electoral Commission’s statement, it had decided to postpone elections in all the Wards because: “The Electoral Commission considered a postponement in the interest of free and fair elections noting that all by-elections share similar circumstances as those ordered for a postponement by the court.”
No further details were provided by the IEC and a new date for elections has not yet been set.