The Stellenbosch Local Municipality council consists of forty-three members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Twenty-two councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in twenty-two wards, while the remaining twenty-one are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received. In the 2021 local government elections, the Democratic Alliance (DA) received a majority of twenty-eight seats on the council.
The following table shows the composition of the council after past elections.
| Event | ACDP | ANC | DA | EFF | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 election | 2 | 14 | 15 | — | 4 | 35 |
| 2002 floor-crossing | 2 | 14 | 12 | — | 7 | 35 |
| 2004 floor-crossing | 2 | 20 | 11 | — | 2 | 35 |
| 2006 election | 2 | 16 | 15 | — | 4 | 37 |
| 2007 floor-crossing | 2 | 17 | 15 | — | 3 | 37 |
| 2011 election | 1 | 11 | 25 | — | 6 | 43 |
| 2016 election | 1 | 8 | 30 | 2 | 2 | 43 |
| 2021 election | 1 | 8 | 28 | 2 | 6 | 45 |
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 Stellenbosch council, three councillors from the Democratic Alliance (DA) crossed to the New National Party (NNP), which had formerly been part of the DA. The two councillors of the Alliance for the Community also crossed to the NNP.[2]
| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 0 | 14 | ||
| 15 | 3 | 12 | ||
| – | 5 | 5 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
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.[3]
| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 June 2003 | 5 | ||||
| 12 | |||||
| 29 April 2004 | 11 | ||||
Another floor-crossing period occurred on 1–15 September 2004, in which the five NNP councillors crossed to the ANC.[4]
| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 5 | 20 | ||
| 11 | 0 | 11 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 5 | 5 | 0 | ||
See main article: 2006 South African municipal elections.
The following table shows the results of the 2006 election.[5]
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 Stellenbosch council, one councillor of the Independent Democrats crossed to the African National Congress.[6]
| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 1 | 17 | ||
| 15 | 0 | 15 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 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.[3]
| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 March 2008 | 17 | [7] | |||
| 24 June 2009 | 16 | ||||
| 24 August 2010 | 1 | ||||
See main article: 2011 South African municipal elections.
The following table shows the results of the 2011 election.[8]
The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the elections in May 2011 and August 2016.[3]
See main article: 2016 South African municipal elections.
The following table shows the results of the 2016 election.[9] [10] [11]
The local council sends five representatives to the council of the Cape Winelands District Municipality: four from the Democratic Alliance and one from the African National Congress[12]
The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the elections in August 2016 and November 2021.[3]
See main article: 2021 South African municipal elections.
The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.[13]
The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period since the election in November 2021.
In a by-election in ward 21, held on 8 March 2023 after the previous DA councillor took up a vacancy in parliament, the DA candidate retained the seat for the party with a solid majority. The African Christian Democratic Party increased its share of the vote to take second place.[14]