Earlier this week former Deputy Chief Justice (DCJ) Dikgang Moseneke recommended that South Africa’s local government election be postponed to February 2022. The Constitution requires these elections to be held before the end of October, which means the only fail-safe legal way to postpone these elections is through a constitutional amendment, something that would be very difficult to do. Unfortunately, the alternative legal mechanism proposed by Justice Moseneke to legalise the postponement is both constitutionally undesirable and uncertain to succeed. At first glance, the decision on whether to postpone the local government elections scheduled for October 2021 to February 2022, is an impossible one to make. This is partly because it is impossible to predict with any certainty what the Covid-19 situation will be in late October or in February next year. Moreover, whatever the situation will be, Covid will still be with us, and some Covid restrictions are likely to be in place whether the election is held in October or in February next year. This means, whether the election is held now or early next year, it is unlikely to be perfect.