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DELIMITATION By the next election, new municipal boundaries will have been drawn up that do away with the apartheid divisions (see "Demarcation"). The Municipal Demarcation Board will draw the boundaries of the wards in the municipality (this is called delimitation) according to the criteria set out in the Municipal Structures Act. The size of the council - which will be set out in the Notice of Establishment (see "Establishment") - will determine how many wards each municipality will have, bearing in mind that 50% of the council seats are allocated to ward councillors. Delimitation can affect the outcome of elections, so it is important that it is done as neutrally as possible. The Board must publish its ward delimitation and people who are unhappy with the delimitation can complain in writing to the Board within 14 days. Wards will be delimited according to the number of registered voters in an area and not according to the total population or by the hectare. Each ward will have approximately the same number of people. This means, for example, that a densely populated area, such as Alexandra in Johannesburg, will have more wards in the same area than neighbouring Sandton, as Sandton has far fewer registered voters per square kilometre than Alexandra. Introduction | The first democratic municipal elections | The proportional representation and ward systems: working together | Voting in metropolitan areas | Voting outside of metropolitan areas | "Mixed" electoral system replaces the "parallel" system | Delimitation | The candidates | Uncontested elections | By-elections | Election of municipal office-bearers | Administration of municipal, provincial and national elections | What will happen in 2000-01? | Conclusion |
