Pretoria - Political parties and independent candidates intending to contest the forthcoming local government elections have until 5pm today to submit candidates' lists.
They also need to pay the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) a deposit to contest the 18 May municipal elections.
On 4 April, the IEC will notify both political parties and the independent candidates of non-compliance regarding outstanding documents. Independent candidates and political parties will then have to submit the outstanding documents to the IEC on 8 April.
However, the IEC will only compile the list of all political parties contesting the elections and the certification of their candidates' lists.
Political parties and independent candidates have to pay a deposit to contest the elections directly to the IEC with a guaranteed cheque only.
The payments are as follows:
R4 000 per metropolitan council
R2 500 per local council with wards
R1 500 per local without wards and per district council
R 1000 per independent ward candidate
R1 000 per ward candidate nominated by a party who is not contesting the election of the relevant municipal council by way of a party (PR) list
A political party that would contest elections in all municipalities could field a maximum of 9 086 candidates for direct election and would have to pay a deposit totaling R633 000.
However, a deposit paid by a political party or ward candidate is refundable if a party is allocated at least one seat in the municipal council or if the ward candidate received at least 10 percent of the total number of votes cast in the ward election.
According to the IEC, candidates have to registered voters in the municipality they want to contest.
