ANC

President Jacob Zuma, speaking yesterday in Riverlea, Johannesburg, warned voters not to vote for a small party as that would not make a difference to their lives. “Many parties say ‘vote for me’ because they want to be in the municipality. Others are worried that the ANC is too strong and we have to build a strong opposition.  What do you do with a strong opposition? Can you bring development programmes?” asked Zuma.

Read more: The New Age

During a visit to the IEC’s headquarters yesterday Zuma said a deeper understanding of democracy in South Africa had been the cause behind a reduction in politically motivated violence. “For almost the first time, no party has complained that there was a part [of the country] they could not go to… there’s[sic]no longer no-go areas.” This speech was made just hours before two candidates were attacked and the IFP warned of a plot to kill its councillors.

Police commissioner Bheki Cele told the media the police were hunting for a man accused of sending a hitman to kill an ANC candidate in Durban’s Newlands East. There was an alleged scuffle between the hitman and his intended victim before the candidate escaped. The hitman has been arrested, but the hunt is still on for whoever paid him.

The SACP, in a statement released by top dogs Blade Nzimande and Jeremy Cronin, has criticised the DA for its lack of attention to transformation, saying it is wrapped up in “non-racial politics”. Then they go on about private property (encouraged by the DA) and the DA-friendly media. It’s a really long statement so make sure you have coffee first. “Our campaign has strongly underlined the fact that the majority of our people raise these matters [service complaints], precisely because it is the ANC-led alliance that is best capable of addressing these problems.”

Read more: Politicsweb

Cosatu-affiliated unions all climbed into the DA and pledged support for the ANC. Numsa called the DA the recycled National Party and Satawu claimed the ANC is the only party which delivers for all (except those in Moqhaka). Cosatu said the DA’s leaders benefited from apartheid and admitted the ANC had problems, but was open about them.

Read more: Politicsweb

DA

Patricia de Lille was put on the spot at the Cape Town Press Club yesterday when asked why the Independent Democrats, of which she is still president, voted with the ANC councillor in the 2006 elections. De Lille said it was a fatal mistake (it obviously wasn’t fatal because she is personally running for mayor now under another party’s banner) and that a better package in terms of positions came from the ANC. When asked a thoroughly reasonable question about whether she was a political chameleon (De Lille left the PAC in 2003 to start the Independent Democrats which she then allowed to be absorbed into the Democratic Alliance in a process which culminates in the 2014 national elections) De Lille replied that opinions like that were like backsides and that everyone had them.

Read more: IOL

Helen Zille was back in the hotly contested metropolitan municipality of Nelson Mandela Bay yesterday. “When you go to vote tomorrow, listen to your heart and your heart is going to say DA,” she said. While she was speaking outside a shop in Kleinskool a crowd waved ANC flags and sang and danced on the other side of the street. “We are not making trouble,” a man in an ANC T-shirt said. “We were merely passing by and Zille happened to be here.”

We’ve mentioned it before, but we’ll say it again. The DA’s Gareth van Onselen, Ryan Coetzee and Jonathan Moaks will be tweeting up to the second election results from IEC HQ in Pretoria as and when they are available. Follow the hashtag #LGEResults or @GvanOnselen, @RyanCoetzee or @Jonathan_Moakes.

Read more: IT Web

Municipal IQ, a local government research and intelligence organisation, said “The Cape Town Story” might not be as rosy as it looks, and other metros may not be as “unrosy” as they seem to be. The Mail and Guardian makes note of Cape Town spending the least money per person of the five big metros and Durban and Johannesburg spending the most. The conclusion of the study says that no metro is really doing that much better or worse than any other.

Read more: Mail and Guardian

A DA councillor in Atlantic, Cape Town, has denied printing pamphlets which claim that food vouchers will be given out to people who vote DA. The ACDP, however, wants the matter investigated. The DA’s Barbara Ross, Ward 32, says she has never seen the alleged pamphlets.

Read more: EWN

IFP

IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi said at a prayer meeting in Ulundi there was a plot to kill IFP councillors after the local general elections today, thereby forcing by-elections to be held. He went on to claim life had been hard for the IFP since the 2009 national and provincial elections because political assassinations had continued even though they were downplayed. KwaZulu-Natal has the most areas described as “hot spots” (potential for violent flare ups) according to police boss Cele: Nongoma, Ulundi, Lindelani and Durban hostels.

Read more: Mail and Guardian

An IFP candidate is in critical condition in hospital after he was assaulted in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Godfrey Mahlobo, the man in question, was due to contest Ward 17 of the Ndwedwe municipality (north of Durban) today.

Read more: TimesLIVE

COPE

In one of the more pointless press conferences of all time, former Gauteng premier and ex-Cope president-deputy-president Mbazima Shilowa said he will not be rejoining the ANC, but will be lodging a court complaint to have himself declared leader of Cope. At some point the party will realise that no one cares who is running it if the party doesn’t achieve anything politically significant, like some service delivery or a coherent message of sorts.

Read more: News24

NFP

Zanele Mgwaza-Msibi, the woman who led a march out of the IFP in January, is confident her party will be kingmaker in a few KZN wards. She also denied reports that Mangosuthu Buthelezi had said her party was funded by the ANC to destroy the IFP.

Read more: The New Age

Who is voting where?

• Jacob Zuma: Ntolwane Primary School, Nkalndla, KZN at 11:00
• Helen Zille: St Paul’s Church, Rondebosch at 10:00
• Mangosuthu Buthelezi: Buthelezi Traditional Court, Ulundi at 09:45
• Winnie Madikizela-Mandela: Peseco High School, Orlando West, Soweto (time not specified)
• Andrew Mlangeni: Sizani Primary School, Dube, Soweto at 07:00
• Barbara Hogan: Old Johannesburg College of Education at 07:00
• Trevor Manuel: Westerford High School, Newlands at 07:00
• Ruth Bhengu: Ikwezi La Machi Primary School, Harding, KZN at 10:00
• Nomvula Mokonyane: Noord Heuwel, Krugersdorp at 07:00
• Tony Ehrenreich: Uisig High School, Cape Town at 07:00
• Patricia de Lille: Pinelands Town Hall, Cape Town at 09:00

Albertina Sisulu and Nelson Mandela have already voted under the IEC’s special votes rules.

Miscellaneous

Home affairs offices will be open on voting day in case anyone requires temporary IDs to vote. All offices will be open from 07:00 to 19:00, mirroring election times. Mobile units will also be in zones where no offices are present.

Daygan Eager reports on what the Auditor General’s report says about the governance of many municipalities in South Africa. Basic conclusion: Things have improved, but not enough, particularly in finance.

Read more: Politicsweb

The South African elections reported around the world:

New York Times; Irish Times; San Francisco Chronicle; Financial Times.

Photo: African National Congress (ANC) supporters carry a mock coffin during a rally in Soweto May 15 2011. The words on the coffin read, “Sleep well Helen”, in reference to Xhosa-speaking former journalist Helen Zille, leader of the opposition party Democratic Alliance. South Africans will vote in municipal elections on May 18. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko.