The George Local Municipality council consists of fifty-three members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Twenty-seven councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in twenty-seven wards, while the remaining twenty-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 no party obtained a majority of seats on the council. The DA did, however, win the largest amount of seats.
The following table shows the composition of the council after past elections.
| Event | ACDP | ANC | DA | EFF | FF+ | PBI | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 election | — | 14 | 17 | — | — | — | 4 | 35 |
| 2006 election | 1 | 17 | 18 | — | 1 | — | 2 | 39 |
| 2011 election | 1 | 19 | 25 | — | 0 | 1 | 3 | 49 |
| 2016 election | 1 | 16 | 29 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 53 |
| 2021 election | 1 | 10 | 26 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 55 |
See main article: 2000 South African municipal elections.
The following table shows the results of the 2000 election.[1]
See also: Floor crossing (South Africa). In terms of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution and the judgment of the Constitutional Court in United Democratic Movement v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others, in the period from 8–22 October 2002 councillors had the opportunity to cross the floor to a different political party without losing their seats.
In the George council, the three councillors of the George Community Initiative crossed to the Democratic Alliance.[2]
| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 3 | 20 | ||
| 14 | 0 | 14 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
Another floor-crossing period occurred on 1–15 September 2004, in which two councillors crossed from the Democratic Alliance to the African National Congress.[3]
| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 2 | 18 | ||
| 14 | 2 | 16 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 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 elections in March 2006 and May 2011.
| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 November 2006 | 3 | [5] | |||
| 5 December 2007 | 3 | ||||
| 21 May 2008 | 5 | ||||
| 8 | |||||
| 6 May 2009 | 1 | ||||
| 24 June 2009 | 19 | ||||
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.
| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 May 2013 | 6 | ||||
| 3 July 2013 | 14 | ||||
| 7 August 2013 | 1 | ||||
See main article: 2016 South African municipal elections.
The following table shows the results of the 2016 election.[7]
The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the elections in August 2016 and November 2021.
| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Feb 2017 | 11 | ||||
| 25 | |||||
| 25 Apr 2018 | 18 | ||||
| 21 Nov 2018 | 3 | ||||
| 10 Apr 2019 | 18 | ||||
| 17 Jul 2019 | 20 | ||||
| 11 Nov 2020[8] | 8 | ||||
| 14 | |||||
| 17 | |||||
| 27 | |||||
See main article: 2021 South African municipal elections.
The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.[9]
The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period since the election in November 2021.[10]
| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Jul 2023 | 16 | ||||
| 19 Jul 2023 | 20 | ||||
| 19 Jul 2023 | 27 | ||||
| 14 Feb 2024[11] | 8 | ||||
| 23 Oct 2024[12] | 20 | ||||
The three Good ward councillors (the party's only ward councillors in the country) resigned, with two joining the Democratic Alliance (DA) and one of the three, Richard Hector, a two-term ward councillor, attempting to reverse his decision. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) declared that he had resigned, and so three by-elections needed to be held. The by-elections were marred by allegations of voter registration fraud, with Good claiming that, in one instance, 188 people were registered at the same address in spite of only two people living there. The IEC dismissed the claims and the by-elections went ahead.[13] Good lost all three seats, with two going to the DA, and one to the Patriotic Alliance (PA).[14]
As a result, the DA, which governed in coalition with Freedom Front Plus (FF+), gained a majority of 28 seats (up from 26) of the 55 available seats, Good fell to 3 from 6, and the PA increased from 1 to 2.
The DA lost its majority after the by-election on 14 February 2024 when it lost ward 8 to the PA, and will have to govern with the support of the FF+ once more.
The council composition as of 14 February 2024 is shown below.