There is still time for candidates to qualify to run in the upcoming Picayune and Poplarville elections for mayor, city councilor and alderman.

Primary and independent candidates for municipal office must qualify by 5 p.m. on Feb. 5, a little over a week away.

As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, only one candidate registered for the ballot within the city of Poplarville, while at least two candidates have qualified for every seat in the city of Picayune.

Primary Election Day will be April 6. If needed, a runoff will be held April 27.

The general election will be June 8, and winners will begin their terms in municipal office July 1.

Both mayoral races are at large. Picayune’s city councilors are voted in by their precinct within the city, while all Board of Aldermen positions in Poplarville are at large.

In Poplarville, the only qualified candidate so far is Heather Holliday, who is running as a Republican for mayor.

In Picayune, two candidates have qualified for the mayoral race: Jim Luke (R) and Tammy Valente (R).

Anna Turnage (R) and Antha Mitchell (R) have qualified in the city council race in precinct 1. In precinct 2, Lynn Bumpers (D) and Dimitri Johnson (D) have qualified. So far, precinct 3 candidates include Jan Stevens (R) and David Fred Smith (D). The precinct 4 candidates are Larry Breland (D) and Vernon Robinson (D). In precinct 5, Frank Ford (R), Larry Cagle (R) and Robert May (R) have qualified.

In order to qualify for this election, candidates need to be a registered voter of the municipality they want to seek election in and must have lived within the city limits at least two years prior to the day of the election.

Potential candidates must not have been convicted of a crime such as bribery, perjury or other crime that could lead to imprisonment in a penitentiary, according to Miss. Code 23-15-300. Candidates also must not have also been convicted of a felony in a federal court after Dec. 8, 1992.

Candidates who are running as independent need 50 signatures of qualified city voters, while candidates running with party affiliation do not.

More detailed information and candidate qualifying forms can be found at sos.ms.gov.