INDEPENDENT Electoral Commission (IEC) municipal ward by-elections around the country got off to a good start, the commission said.

"Things are going well. All the voting stations have opened," spokeswoman Kate Bapela said.

The by-elections were being held in eight provinces - Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Northern Cape and Western Cape.

Voting stations opened at 7am and were to close at 9pm, except for Ward 21 in the Intsika Yethu Municipality in Eastern Cape, which were to close at 7pm.

Bapela said the results would start being released at midnight after votes had been counted, audited and verified.

Earlier this week the IEC said 15 vacant wards were to be contested by 50 candidates representing 12 political parties; three were independent candidates.

One by-election each was taking place in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, North West and Western Cape; four in Gauteng; four in KwaZulu-Natal; and two in Mpumalanga.