The uMuziwabantu Local Municipality council consists of twenty-one members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Eleven councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in ten wards, while the remaining ten 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 3 August 2016 the African National Congress (ANC) won a majority of fourteen seats on the council.
The following table shows the composition of the council after past elections.
| Event | ANC | DA | EFF | IFP | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 election | 7 | 1 | - | 10 | 0 | 18 |
| 2006 election | 12 | 0 | - | 6 | 0 | 18 |
| 2011 election | 12 | 1 | - | 2 | 4 | 19 |
| 2016 election | 14 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | 20 |
| 2021 election | 10 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 21 |
See main article: 2000 South African municipal elections.
The following table shows the results of the 2000 election.[1]
See main article: 2006 South African municipal elections.
The following table shows the results of the 2006 election.[2]
See main article: 2011 South African municipal elections.
The following table shows the results of the 2011 election.[3]
See main article: 2016 South African municipal elections.
The following table shows the results of the 2016 election.[4]
See main article: 2021 South African municipal elections.
The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.[5]
The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period since the election in November 2021.[6]
Most of ward 11 consists of the town of Harding, which was severely affected by the unrest in July 2021. A new ward, it was won by Sheikh Mondli Ncane from Al Jama-ah (AJ). An ANC coalition saw Ncane elected deputy-mayor. In June 2022, Ncane was ousted as deputy mayor, and replaced by a candidate from ANC coalition partner Abantu Batho Congress (ABC). Ncane quit his party, standing as a candidate for the Sizwe Ummah Nation (SUN) in the by-election. The seat was won by the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), which increased its share from 6% to 53%. Ncane got 31%, while the candidate from his previous party, AJ, got 1%.[7]