The council of the Matzikama Local Municipality in the Western Cape, South Africa is elected every five years by a system of mixed-member proportional representation. Eight councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in eight wards, while the remaining seven 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) won a plurality of six seats on the council.
The following table shows the composition of the council after past elections.
| Event | ANC | DA | EFF | ID | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 election | 7 | 6 | — | — | 0 | 13 |
| 2006 election | 6 | 3 | — | 4 | 0 | 13 |
| 2011 election | 6 | 7 | — | — | 2 | 15 |
| 2016 election | 5 | 8 | 1 | — | 1 | 15 |
| 2021 election | 4 | 6 | 1 | — | 4 | 15 |
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 Matzikama council, four councillors from the Democratic Alliance (DA) crossed to the New National Party (NNP), which had formerly been part of the DA.[2]
| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 0 | 7 | ||
| – | 4 | 4 | ||
| 6 | 4 | 2 | ||
Another floor-crossing period occurred on 1–15 September 2004, in which one of the NNP councillors crossed to the ANC.[3]
| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 4 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 2 | ||
See main article: 2006 South African municipal elections.
The following table shows the results of the 2006 election.[4]
The final floor-crossing period occurred on 1–15 September 2007; floor-crossing was subsequently abolished in 2008 by the Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution. In the Matzikama council one councillor crossed from the Democratic Alliance to the South African Political Alliance.[5]
| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 4 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 2 | ||
| — | 1 | 1 | ||
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.
See main article: 2011 South African municipal elections.
At the election of 18 May 2011, the council was expanded to 15 members with the addition of one new ward and one new PR list seats. The Democratic Alliance won 7 seats, one short of a majority.
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.[7]
| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 November 2012 | 2 | [8] | |||
| 29 January 2014 | 4 | ||||
| 28 May 2024 | 6 | ||||
| 22 July 2015 | 2 | ||||
See main article: 2016 South African municipal elections.
The following table shows the results of the 2016 election.[9] [10] [11]
The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the elections since August 2016.
| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 December 2018[12] | 6 | ||||
| 13 November 2019[13] | 4 | ||||
| 26 February 2020 | 8 | ||||
In July 2018, the ANC's Hennie Nel was elected mayor after the resignation of the DA's Rhenda Stephan.[14] In August 2018, the DA's Johan van der Hoven was elected as mayor.[15]
After the second by-election, the ANC became the largest party as the council was reconfigured as seen below:
The local council sends two representatives to the council of the West Coast District Municipality: one from the ANC and one from the DA.[16]
See main article: 2021 South African municipal elections.
The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.[17]
The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period since November 2021.
| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 Jul 2022[18] | 7 | ||||
| 20 Nov 2024[19] | 6 | ||||
After the November 2024 by-election, the council was reconfigured as below: