Of the 71 000 registered voters, a little over 8000 were approved for special voting on Tuesday.

The municipal council was disbanded by the provincial government in September, citing a lack of services, maladministration and political infighting.

6416 of 8453 people were set to vote at 97 voting stations where applications for special votes were approved.

The other 2037 were visited in their homes.

Among those who cast special votes were elderly people living in several old-age homes at Coligny.

Others cast their votes at the voting stations. They say all they want is to see developments in their wards.

'I want a clean town with decent streets again'

"I want clean water. I want to work together with all the people here. I want a clean town with decent streets again," a resident says.

"I want to see this town of ours cleaned up. And I want the right people to be there.I hope that the Whites and the Blacks in this town, realise that we need one another, not only for Coligny but for South Africa. My vote has never produced any desired results. On my street, they don’t collect garbage, we do it ourselves. We often go about two to three days without water," another resident explains.

The provincial electoral officer in the North West, Dr Tumelontle Thiba, says they expect at least 25% of the voters to take part in the by-elections.

ALSO READ: Julius Malema encourages Ditsobotla residents to vote on Wednesday

Meanwhile, political analyst at the North West University, Professor André Duvenhage says he doesn’t expect a good turnout.

"It is a normal pattern that people aren’t participating in local government the same way they do on national and provincial levels. Therefore, I’m expecting a lower voter outcome. It is the festive season. It is close to the ANC’s national conference," says Duvenhage.

20 ward and 19 proportional representation (PR) seats are up for grabs in Ditsobotla.

SABC News