South African municipal election, 2012

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This article or section contains information about a forthcoming election.
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The 2012 South African municipal elections will be held sometime in 2012 for all districts and local municipalities in all 9 existing provinces. Municipal elections are held every six years, and the previous municipal elections were held in 2006; this election will be the third since municipal governments were instituted in 2000 under the Mbeki government.

The 2012 municipal elections will elect the members of the district, metropolitan and local municipal councils, who, in turn, will elect the mayors of the municipalities to office.

[edit] Importance

In 2012, the African National Congress, which is the majority party in most of the districts, will hold its 53rd National Conference, in which the party will elect new incumbents for its National Executive Committee. It will be the first National Conference since Thabo Mbeki steps down as president of South Africa in 2009.

The Democratic Alliance, currently the largest party in parliamentary opposition at the national level, will hold its next Federal Congress in 2012. It will be the first held since current Mayor of Cape Town Helen Zille was elected president of the party in 2006, succeeding Tony Leon.