Eleven political parties are contesting Wednesday's by-elections in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) said.

Six by-elections are set for KwaZulu-Natal, with two taking place in the eThekhwini metro. The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), African National Congress (ANC) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)  are the only three parties contesting ward 91.

The ANC received 77 percent of the ward votes in the 2016 municipal elections. The ward became vacant after the councillor died. At ward 88, the contest is between the ANC, IFP, EFF and the National Freedom Party (NFP). The ANC councillor who also passed away, won the ward with 73.67 percent of the votes in 2016. 

The three other by-elections will be at wards 22, 3 and ward 7 at Newcastle, Nongoma and uMhlabuyalingana municipalities respectively. Newcastle's ward 22 was held by the ANC, while wards 3 and 7 were for the IFP.

At the Eastern Cape's Nelson Mandela Bay, the ANC, African Christian Democratic Party, Congress of the People, Democratic Alliance (DA) and the EFF will contest the DA held ward 2. The seat became vacant after the DA councillor resigned. The DA had clinched 89.69 percent of the votes in the 2016 municipal polls.  

At Limpopo's Fetakgomo Tubatse municipality, ward 5 is up for grabs following the death of the ANC councillor. The Azanian People's Organisation, the Pan Africanist Congress, the Socialist Agenda Of Dispossessed Africans and the South African Maintenance And Estate Beneficiaries Association are running for the seat.