The Bergrivier Local Municipality council consists of thirteen members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Seven councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in seven wards, while the remaining six are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received. In the election of 1 November 2021 the Democratic Alliance (DA) obtained a majority of eight seats on the council.
The following table shows the composition of the council after past elections.
| Event | ANC | DA | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 election | 6 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
| 2004 floor-crossing | 7 | 5 | 1 | 13 |
| 2006 election | 6 | 6 | 1 | 13 |
| 2011 election | 5 | 7 | 1 | 13 |
| 2016 election | 4 | 9 | 0 | 13 |
| 2021 election | 3 | 8 | 2 | 13 |
See main article: 2000 South African municipal elections.
The following table shows the results of the 2000 election.[1]
The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the floor crossing periods in October 2002 and September 2004.[2]
See also: Floor crossing (South Africa). In terms of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, in the period from 1–15 September 2004 councillors had the opportunity to cross the floor to a different political party without losing their seats. In the Bergrivier council one Democratic Alliance councillor left the party to sit as an independent.[3]
| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 6 | 1 | 5 | ||
| — | 1 | 1 | ||
See main article: 2006 South African municipal elections.
The following table shows the results of the 2006 election.[4]
The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the floor crossing period in September 2007 and the election in May 2011.
| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 December 2008 | 4 | [5] | |||
| 24 February 2010 | 1 | ||||
See main article: 2011 South African municipal elections.
The following table shows the results of the 2011 election.[6]
The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the elections in May 2011 and August 2016.[2]
See main article: 2016 South African municipal elections.
The following table shows the results of the 2016 election.[7] [8] [9]
The local council sends two representatives to the council of the West Coast District Municipality: one from the Democratic Alliance and one from the African National Congress.[10]
The DA subsequently lost one seat to the African National Congress (ANC) in a by-election on 23 August 2017.[11] However, the DA won the ward back in another by-election held on 16 January 2019.[12] The 2016 council composition was thus restored.
| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 August 2017 | 5 | ||||
| 16 January 2019 | 5 | ||||
See main article: 2021 South African municipal elections.
The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.[13]