Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has gazetted 1 November 2021 as the date for the municipal elections.

The gazette was done as per the Constitution, section 159 read with the Municipal Structures Act, which prescribes that at the end of a five-year term of local government, elections must be held within a period of 90 days.

Gazetting of the election date means that the IEC will seal the voters' roll at midnight on Monday while the candidate registration system will close on Tuesday.

The statement from the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs read: "The gazetting of the date is taking us a step closer to voting day. We urge all South Africans who will be embarking on campaigning and canvassing for votes to do so responsibly, while respecting the Covid-19 regulations and protocols."

Dlamini-Zuma added that, with the gazetting done, her department was "now looking towards voting day" as she urged "all South Africans to ensure peaceful, credible, free and fair municipal elections".

"Our actions have thus far proved true to our noble intentions to keep the flame of democracy burning by voting on 01 November 2021.

"With the voter's roll sealed, I hope that South Africans, especially the women, youth, persons with disabilities and people in rural areas under different traditional authorities had an opportunity to register," said Dlamini-Zuma.

The Minister thanked those citizens who made sure that they are registered and that their names appear in the voter's roll.

This as the IEC held a final registration over the past weekend.

"We are encouraged by the numbers of citizens who went out to over 23 000 voting stations to register to vote on 01 November 2021. The IEC will over the course of the week release the actual statistics and the status of our voter's roll," said the minister.

This will be the sixth municipal election held in South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994.