South Africa uses a mixed electoral system for metropolitan and local municipalities, designed so that councils are both locally representative and proportional overall. Understanding it explains why so many councils are hung.
Ward seats
Roughly half of the seats in a metropolitan or local council are ward seats. The municipality is divided into wards of broadly similar population, and each elects a single councillor on a first-past-the-post basis. The candidate with the most votes wins the ward outright.
This is the councillor who represents your immediate area, and the one you approach as a resident.
Proportional representation seats
The remaining seats are filled from party lists, allocated so that each party’s total share of seats in the council, ward seats included, matches its share of the party vote as closely as possible.
This is the crucial mechanic. A party that wins many wards receives correspondingly fewer list seats, because the list seats exist to correct the overall balance. The result is a council close to proportional no matter how the wards fall.
You therefore cast more than one vote
In a metropolitan or local municipality you receive a ballot for your ward candidate and a ballot for a party. In a local municipality inside a district, you also receive a ballot for the district council.
District councils are composed differently
A district council is made up partly of councillors elected directly on the district ballot, and partly of representatives sent from the councils of the local municipalities within the district. District councillors are therefore not all directly elected.
Why coalitions have become normal
Because the proportional element prevents a party from converting a modest vote share into a large seat majority, outright majorities are harder to win than under a purely ward-based system. Where the vote splits between several parties of similar size, a hung council follows, and government depends on agreement between them.
Every profile records the council’s composition party by party, the total number of seats, and the governing party or coalition.
Common questions
How many councillors does a municipality have?
It depends on the number of registered voters, set by the MEC for local government in each province within limits in the law. Councils range from a handful of seats in the smallest municipalities to 270 in the largest.
What happens if a ward councillor resigns?
A by-election is held in that ward within 90 days. If a proportional representation councillor leaves, the party fills the seat from its list and no by-election is needed.
Can an independent candidate win?
Yes, in a ward. Independents contest ward seats and several have won them. They cannot contest proportional representation seats, which are allocated to parties.
Figures on this page come from National Treasury, Statistics South Africa and the Auditor-General, as set out in the sources and methodology. Read the methodology