The council of the Overstrand Local Municipality in the Western Cape, South Africa is elected every five years by a system of mixed-member proportional representation. Half of the councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting from individual wards, while the other half are appointed from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received. By-elections are held to replace the councillors elected by wards if a vacancy occurs.
The following table shows the composition of the council after past elections and floor-crossing periods.
Event | ACDP | ANC | DA | EFF | NNP | Other | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 election | 1 | 5 | 12 | — | — | 0 | 18 |
2002 floor-crossing | 1 | 5 | 5 | — | 7 | 0 | 18 |
2004 floor-crossing | 1 | 10 | 5 | — | 2 | 0 | 18 |
2006 election | 1 | 7 | 10 | — | — | 1 | 19 |
2007 floor-crossing | 0 | 6 | 11 | — | — | 2 | 19 |
2011 election | 0 | 9 | 15 | — | — | 1 | 25 |
2016 election | — | 8 | 16 | 1 | — | 0 | 25 |
2021 election | 1 | 4 | 17 | 1 | — | 4 | 27 |
See main article: 2000 South African municipal elections.
The Overstrand municipality was created in 2000 by merging the Hangklip-Kleinmond, Hermanus, Stanford and Gansbaai municipalities. The council consisted of 18 members, 9 elected to represent wards and 9 from party lists. The election was held on 5 December 2000; the Democratic Alliance won a majority of 12 seats.
The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the election in December 2000 and the floor crossing period in October 2002.
Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
15 May 2002[1] | 2 | ||||
4 |
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 Overstrand council, seven councillors departed the Democratic Alliance (DA) to become representatives of the New National Party (NNP).[2] The NNP, which had formerly been part of the DA, then formed a coalition with the African National Congress (ANC); this coalition had a majority of 12 seats.
Another floor-crossing period occurred on 1–15 September 2004. In the Overstrand council, 5 councillors crossed from the New National Party (NNP) to the African National Congress (ANC), giving the ANC a majority of 10 seats.[3]
See main article: 2006 South African municipal elections.
At the elections of 1 March 2006, the council was expanded to 19 members with the addition of a new ward. The Democratic Alliance won a majority with 10 seats.
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 Overstrand council, the only representative of the African Christian Democratic Party crossed to the Democratic Alliance (DA), giving the DA an increased majority with 11 seats. The only representative of the Independent Democrats, as well as one representative of the African National Congress, crossed to the newly formed National People's Party.[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 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
24 June 2009[5] | 3 | ||||
24 February 2010[6] | 1 |
See main article: 2011 South African municipal elections. At the election of 18 May 2011, the council was expanded to 25 members with the addition of 3 new wards and 3 new PR list seats. The Democratic Alliance won a majority with 15 seats.
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 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
7 August 2013[7] | 3 | ||||
26 November 2014[8] | 2 | ||||
5 | |||||
7 | [9] | ||||
30 September 2015[10] | 2 |
See main article: 2016 South African municipal elections. At the election of 3 August 2016, the Democratic Alliance won a majority with 16 seats.
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 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
21 February 2018[11] | 13 | ||||
9 December 2020[12] | 12 | ||||
See main article: 2021 South African municipal elections. At the election of 1 November 2021, the Democratic Alliance won a majority with 17 seats.
The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period from the election in November 2021.[13]