The MDB will be entering the fourth week of the public consultation sessions on the draft sets of wards #WardDelimitation2020. As such, it is imperative to reiterate that, the MDB will not conduct any municipal boundary re-determinations until after the 2021 Local Government Elections (LGE). Communities can however submit their proposals now but the process will re-open after the 2021 LGE.

As alluded above, the MDB is currently embarking on a nation-wide public consultation on draft electoral wards in preparation for the 2021 local government elections. The consultations started in February 2020 and will conclude in April 2020.

It is important for communities to note that, the maps which are available are DRAFTS for consultation purposes only, they have no legal status. The consultations are meant to solicit inputs from communities on how the wards should be configured based on the norm of respective municipalities. Draft maps are obtainable on MDB website.

Communities should also note that, the MDB has no influence in the determination of the formulae for the determination of the number of councillors nor the determination of the number of councillors, and therefore appeals to all stakeholders not to ask the MDB to change the formula, increase or decrease the number of Councillors nor the number of wards.

We therefore call on members of the public to actively participate and express their views on how their wards should be configured.

There are two options available for communities to express their views, one is being part of the physical meetings. The second option is to fill in the ward submission form which can be obtained on the MDB website www.demarcation.org.za

Communities and municipalities are encouraged to consult among themselves and reach a consensus. Their proposal should be aligned to the criteria for ward delimitation and can be submitted by not later than 30 April 2020 to registry@demarcation.org.za

With regards to the timeframes of the ward delimitation process, after the public meetings in February to April 2020, the MDB will consider all public proposals received and delimit wards. The wards will be published in provincial gazettes for objections by May 2020. Any aggrieved person will have 14 days to object.

The MDB will then consider all objections, and publish its final decisions in provincial gazettes by July 2020. As indicated previously, the MDB will then handover the final ward boundaries to the IEC in August 2020 to start preparing for the 2021 local elections.