Election posters – political parties face big fines for leaving them up

The City of Joburg says it will fine political parties R500 for every election poster still tied to street poles and in other areas after the 14-day grace period lapses.

The city said that now that the 2024 national elections have now been concluded, political parties have the responsibility to ensure all campaign posters are removed.

The parties have until Wednesday, 12 June, to remove the posters.

“All political parties that participated and displayed posters and other related election material for the purpose of political campaigns did so under the provisions of Section 28 of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality Outdoor Advertising by-laws (2009),” it said.

Among other conditions, these bylaws state that any poster contemplated in the section must be removed by the person displaying it within fourteen days after conclusion of the election or voter registration.

If the political parties don’t remove the posters, the city itself will remove them within fourteen days and charge the relevant party a ‘fee’ of R500 per poster.

“Joburg’s Metropolitan Police By-law Unit will remove and collate posters of political parties that have failed to remove their posters and issue fines against the prescribed fee,” the city said.

The city said that during elections, the city’s electric light poles are covered with campaign posters, making streets a hue of colours, “however, if left unchecked, these make the city look unsightly and become an eyesore, hence the provisions of Section 28.

Read: 2024 South Africa Election: Final national and provincial results and seat allocations