Forty Five parties to contest the 2014 general elections

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 The Independent Electoral Commission says a total of 8 651 candidates will stand for election on the national and provincial lists of 45 political parties.

The IEC said on Friday that this is slightly fewer than the 9 117 candidates who appeared on the final lists for the 2009 election.

The Electoral Commission published the final list of candidates for the May 7 elections.

The IEC says men continue to make up the bulk of candidates at 59.8% of the total number, compared to 40.2 % women candidates.

Meanwhile, the IEC says 18 political parties will contest the provincial elections in the Eastern Cape.

These include little known parties like the Kingdom Governance Movement, the Patriotic Movement of South Africa and the United Congress, lead by former ANC stalwart, Mluleki George.

The Inkatha Freedom Party and its offshoot, the National Freedom Party are also contesting in the Eastern Cape.

The IEC says 26 parties will contest the provincial elections in the Western Cape.

A total of 29 political parties will contest the national elections