The upcoming local government elections will be the most contested since those held in 1994. One small example of just how invested every person of voting age is in this election is borne out in Eastern Cape, where an 18-year-old and 90-year-old will stand as independent candidates in the Ingquza and Mbizana local municipalities respectively.A total of 200 parties and more than 61000 candidates will contest the August 3 elections.The Independent Electoral Commission has recorded a 65% increase in the number of parties since the 2011 local government elections and a 12% rise in the number of candidates.Of the candidates contesting, about 60% are male and 40% females.Earlier this month, the Constitutional Court ruled the Tlokwe municipal voters' roll unlawful - and the IEC was given 18 months to fix the problem. Over the past weekend, 4053 voters in Tlokwe corrected their details on the voters' roll.IEC vice-chairman Terry Tselane said: "We will make sure that. by the time the residents of Tlokwe go to their voting stations, the issues identified by the Constitutional Court will be dealt with."Although, nationally, millions of names on the voters' roll remain unaccompanied by valid addresses, it was deemed that the August elections go ahead.Speaking on the violence that erupted in Tshwane last week, IEC CEO Mosotho Moepya said the commission had been in talks with political parties to ensure the polls were not blighted by bloodshed or intimidation.Moepya said: "There are no issues that are keeping us awake at night and if there are issues they must be dealt with. We assess and have access to the security assessment of the country and take appropriate steps as necessary to deal with those issues."Tselane said: "The violent protest that erupted in Tshwane was of great concern to us."We will continue to monitor the situation and engage with political parties to ensure those issues are dealt with to prevent those kind of challenges from spilling into our electoral processes."..