From staff reports

The first public forum of the city election season will be at 6 p.m. Thursday at Vicksburg Auditorium.

The event is expected to last about three hours. All 16 candidates for the city’s three elected posts have been invited, and the public will be invited to ask questions after candidates have presented their platforms.

The forum is sponsored by the Vicksburg Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., the Mississippi Chapter of Blacks in Government and the Vicksburg Branch of the NAACP.

There will also be a voter registration drive in conjunction with the forum. The deadline to register to vote in the party primary election is Saturday.

The party primary election will be May 3 with a runoff, if needed, on May 17. The general election is June 7.

Qualifying for city posts began in January and candidates since have been making civic club and other appearances. Also, individual groups such as tourism interests have invited candidates to talk about specific topics.