Election fever is pervading the whole country as candidates, political parties and their ardent supporters are now going into top gear with exactly one month left, before South Africans go to the polls for the local government elections, to be held on Monday, November 1. Whilst the IEC is expected to publish the final candidate list  soon, locally in Ward 61, the campaign is already in full-swing, as high profile politicians have started visiting our ‘shores’, with many more expected over the next 4 weeks, to promote their respective political parties and candidates. The past week has seen various panel discussions taking place, hosted by community organisations and other interested parties, whereby candidates have been asked to introduce themselves and give a short motivation as to why the community should vote for them. The election campaign has stretched from posts on social media to campaigning in your favorite newspaper, the Laudium Sun, to posters hanging on street poles in the Ward 61 area (Laudium / Erasmia / Claudius / Itireleng / Gerhardsville). House – meetings, door-to-door campaigning and engaging with religious and community organisations, will be the order of the day for the next 4 weeks. The local government elections allow residents to vote for the candidate of their choice on the first ballot form and the political party of their choice on the second ballot form.