South Africa will hold local government elections in October that were delayed by the coronavirus, the presidency said in a statement on Wednesday.

"President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced Wednesday, 27 October 2021, as the date on which local government elections will take place," the president's office said.

The polls, scheduled for every five years and last held in 2016, allow South Africans to vote for public representatives at metropolitan, district and the local level.

Some political parties had argued for the polls to be pushed back to 2022 once the worst of COVID-19 has passed.