In a statement released on Monday, the IEC said it was seeking a postponement on the basis that the latest regulations curtail political activities imperilling the freeness and fairness of the elections.
The polls were contested by 77 candidates representing 14 political parties along with 18 independent candidates.
The bill could see even more politicians serving in municipal councils and provincial legislatures.
The Chapter 9 institution is anticipating its budget from government to be trimmed by R130 million in the next financial year, a move that is likely to have an impact on its ability to carry out the upcoming local government elections.
However, the commission was disappointed that two voting stations opened late due to service delivery protests in Naledi, Soweto, and the Eastern Cape.
While results are still being tallied, with the final outcome expected to be announced at midday, the DA appears to have lost at least eight seats in Gauteng, the North West, Northern Cape and the Western Cape.
By-elections are being held across the country on what the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has dubbed Super Wednesday.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said that all the necessary resources were in place for by-elections in 95 wards across 55 municipalities on Wednesday.
Voter registration started on Saturday for the 96 municipal ward by-elections scheduled to take place across the country next month.
The organisation said the election watchdog's move was based on a perceived similarity with another political party and the use of the South African flag in its logo.
The commission said it would need to print some 130 million ballots and vote counting could be more complex and possibly go beyond the current stipulated seven days.
The Independent Electoral Commission said it wanted to test the system with a plan to roll it out for the 2024 elections but their request for funding was not granted.
The Constitutional Court gave Parliament exactly two years to fix the anomaly forbidding independent candidates from standing for Parliament.
The Independent Electoral Commission approached the court with an urgent application seeking a postponement.
The commission said it was concerned about the spread of the virus given the close physical contact between its officials and members of the public during the voting process.
Experts were expected to address the influence of fake news on election integrity, amongst other things.
Some of these parties were started more than two decades ago but few of them have been seen in the public while most of the newer parties have become one-man shows.
Eyewitness News established that Tom Thabane was head of elections in Bloemfontein during the first democratic elections in 1994.
