SmilingSouth

#LGE2021 MAKANA VOTERS GUIDE

WHO WILL YOU VOTE FOR?

SmilingSouth invited ward candidates contesting the 2021 Local Government Elections in Makana Municipality to respond to three questions and provide their manifesto. The questions:
1. What are the three most important issues for stakeholders based in the ward you hope to represent?
2. How do you plan to solve them using the mechanisms and platforms available to a councillor in local government?
3. How can stakeholders in this ward be sure that you will work in their interests for the next five years?
Click on your ward BELOW to read the responses of party based and independent candidates who are competing to represent you. Only one party (and individual), the VFP, actively declined to respond. Any others that may be missing haven’t yet responded. To find out which is your ward, click on the IEC’s website here.

Ward 1

Ward 2

Ward 3

Ward 4

Ward 5

Ward 6

Ward 7

Ward 8

Ward 9

Ward 10

Ward 11

Ward 12

Ward 13

Ward 14

WHAT?
In Municipal Elections, you vote for a political party and a ward councillor (a mixed system of PR and a ward constituency system) to get seats at the municipal level. Here in Makana, you’ll receive 3 ballots:
* 1 for a ward councillor for the Makana Local Council;
* 1 for a party for the Makana Local Council;
* 1 for a party for the Sarah Baartman District Council.
People living in metropolitan areas like Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City metros get 2 ballots: 1 for a ward councillor and 1 for a party.

Municipal elections are different from National and Provincial Elections, where you vote for a political party (Proportional Representative or PR electoral system) to get seats in the national or provincial legislatures. In municipal elections you get the opportunity to put your X next to someone you know and trust on your Ward Councillor ballot.

WHY THREE BALLOT PAPERS?

On 1 November, Makana voters will give 28 councillors the mandate to look after citizens’ interests for the next five years – 14 ward councillors and 14 proportional representation (PR) councillors.

Two of your ballots are for a party. The third is for an individual councillor. Makana has candidates who are independent, as well as candidates representing a political party. At the end of this guide is a link to each ward, where you will find responses from independent and party based candidates contesting it.

The councillors Makana voters put in place to look after their interests over the past five years (2016 to 2021) were representatives of three parties: The ANC (12 ward councilors and 6 PR councilors) was the majority; the DA had 2 ward and 6 PR seats; the EFF held 2 PR seats.

This year, the following parties or entities are contesting the local government election in Makana:
African National Congress (ANC); African Transformation Movement (ATM); Azanian People’s Organisation (Azapo); Democratic Alliance (DA); Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF); Independent candidates (IND); Makana Citizens Front (MCF); Makana Independent New Deal (MIND); Patriotic Alliance (PA); Vryheidsfront-Plus (VFP).

WHEN? MONDAY 1 NOVEMBER 7am to 9pm

WHERE?

When you check your registration status online, it will tell you exactly where you must go to vote. There may be more than one voting district in your ward. Once registered, your name will appear only on the Voters’ Roll for the voting district at which you registered and you can only vote there. If you voted in the last (national) election and you haven’t moved, you vote in the same place.

HOW?

1. On 1 November 2021, go to the voting station at which you’re registered. Don’t forget to bring:
   * Your mask;
   * A pen (if you wish);
   * Official identification – your green, bar-coded ID book; or Smartcard ID or valid Temporary Identity Certificate (TIC).
2. Show your identification to the voting officer.
3. The voting officer checks that your name appears on the voters’ roll. If you are not on the voters’ roll, but have proof that you have registered (e.g. registration sticker), the Presiding Officer must validate your proof of registration. If he/she is satisfied with the proof, you must complete a MEC7 form and will then be allowed to continue as an ordinary voter.
4. Once the voting officer is satisfied that you have the correct ID, are a registered voter and have not already voted, your name is marked off the roll, your ID is stamped on the second page and your thumbnail is inked.
5. The voting officer stamps the back of the correct number of official ballot papers and gives them to you. You’ll receive 3 ballots: 1 for a ward councillor for the Makana Local Council; 1 for a party for the Makana Local Council; and 1 for a party for the Sarah Baartman District Council.
6. Take your ballot paper/s to an empty ballot booth, mark the ballot paper, fold it so that your choice isn’t visible and place the ballot paper in the ballot box.

That’s it – you’re done.

This entry was posted on October 25, 2021 at 5:13 pm and is filed under #LGE21Makana. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.