| Metsimaholo | |
| Settlement Type: | Local municipality |
| Seal Size: | 150x100px |
| Map Alt: | Location in the Free State |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | South Africa |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Free State |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Fezile Dabi |
| Seat: | Sasolburg |
| Parts Type: | Wards |
| Parts: | 23 |
| Government Footnotes: | [1] |
| Government Type: | Municipal council |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Jeff Zwane (DA) |
| Area Total Km2: | 1717 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 149108 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Racial makeup |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 82.3% |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 0.7% |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 0.3% |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 16.4% |
| Demographics Type2: | First languages |
| Demographics2 Footnotes: | [3] |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 59.9% |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 16.7% |
| Demographics2 Info3: | 7.6% |
| Demographics2 Info4: | 6.0% |
| Demographics2 Info5: | 9.8% |
| Timezone1: | SAST |
| Utc Offset1: | +2 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Municipal code |
| Blank Info Sec1: | FS204 |
Metsimaholo Municipality (Sotho, Southern: Masepala wa Metsimaholo; Afrikaans: Metsimaholo Munisipaliteit) is a local municipality within the Fezile Dabi District Municipality, in the Free State province of South Africa. Metsimaholo means "big water" in Sesotho.[4]
The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:[5]
| Place | Code | Area (km2) | Population | Most spoken language | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41901 | 0.58 | 666 | Sotho | ||
| 41902 | 0.69 | 30 | Xhosa | ||
| 41903 | 6.50 | 1,124 | Afrikaans | ||
| 41904 | 0.93 | 614 | Afrikaans | ||
| 41914 | 0.79 | 3,193 | Sotho | ||
| 41906 | 7.73 | 297 | Afrikaans | ||
| 41907 | 5.65 | 13,792 | Sotho | ||
| 41908 | 0.37 | 209 | Afrikaans | ||
| 41909 | 49.82 | 24,568 | Afrikaans | ||
| 41910 | 1.50 | 1,301 | Afrikaans | ||
| 41911 | 0.65 | 798 | Sotho | ||
| 41912 | 2.49 | 589 | Sotho | ||
| 41913 | 10.21 | 57,070 | Sotho | ||
| Remainder of the municipality | 41905 | 1,651.37 | 11,723 | Sotho |
See main article: Metsimaholo Local Municipality elections. The municipal council consists of forty-six members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Twenty-three councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in twenty-three wards, while the remaining twenty-three 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 won a majority on the council. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) formed a coalition with the African National Congress (ANC). The EFF's Selloane Motjeane was elected mayor, while Lucas Fisher of the ANC was elected Speaker and Fikile Msokweni of the ANC the Council Whip. However, that coalition collapsed and Jeff Zwane of the Democratic Alliance was subsequently elected mayor.[6] The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.[7]