​Lerato Mailoane
South Africa will take to the polls for the Local Government Elections on 1 November 2021.
The final date was announced by the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on Wednesday.
​"We've come to the determination that this year's local government elections will be held on the 1st of November 2021. This is in accordance with the Constitution, read with the Municipal Structures Act, as the Act prescribes that the election must be held within 90 days from the end of the five-year term of local government," said Dlamini-Zuma during a media briefing.
The announcement comes after the Constitutional Court's dismissal of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) application to have the elections postponed because of COVID-19 concerns.
The court ordered the IEC to hold local government elections on any day between October 27 and November 1 this year.
The IEC has decided that a physical registration weekend is a necessity ahead of this election and has subsequently scheduled registration for the weekend of 18 and 19 September 2021.
This registration weekend will offer all eligible citizens an opportunity to register or update their registration details.
All the 23 151 voting stations will open from 08h00 until 17h00 on both days. The IEC has urged young people, in particular, to take advantage of this opportunity to register and eventually vote. 
Dlamini-Zuma urged the public to exercise caution and observe COVID-19 protocols and regulations during registration, campaigning, and voting.
This will be the sixth time in a democratic South Africa that voters will elect leadership and public representatives at metropolitan, district and local government levels.
Dlamini-Zuma said these elections are important in advancing our young democracy.
"They mark the 21st anniversary since the establishment of a democratic local government system in our country. This sphere of government remains the hope of our people as the sphere closest to them and is in the coal face of service delivery."​