The number of councillors a municipality has is determined by its number of registered voters, set by the MEC for local government in each province within limits laid down in law. It is not something a council decides for itself, and it cannot be changed to suit a governing party.
The largest councils
| Municipality | Province | Council seats | Parties | Governing party or coalition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Johannesburg | Gauteng | 270 | 18 | ANC/EFF/PA Coalition |
| Cape Town | Western Cape | 231 | 17 | DA |
| City of Ekurhuleni | Gauteng | 224 | 16 | ANC/EFF/AIC Coalition |
| eThekwini | KwaZulu-Natal | 222 | 26 | ANC/EFF Coalition |
| City of Tshwane | Gauteng | 214 | 15 | DA/ActionSA/FF Plus/ACDP/UDM/COPE Coalition |
| Nelson Mandela Bay | Eastern Cape | 120 | 13 | ANC/EFF/NA/AIC/PAC Coalition |
| Mangaung | Free State | 101 | 9 | ANC |
| Buffalo City | Eastern Cape | 100 | 9 | ANC |
| City of Mbombela | Mpumalanga | 90 | 6 | ANC |
| Emfuleni | Gauteng | 90 | 10 | Hung Council |
| Polokwane | Limpopo | 90 | 8 | ANC |
| Rustenburg | North West | 90 | 13 | Hung Council |
| Madibeng | North West | 82 | 10 | ANC |
| Msunduzi | KwaZulu-Natal | 81 | 10 | Hung Council |
| Thulamela | Limpopo | 81 | 7 | ANC |
Fragmentation matters more than size
The number of parties represented shapes how a council behaves far more than the number of seats. A large council dominated by one party is straightforward to govern. A smaller one split between a dozen parties may need four or five of them to agree before anything passes.
| Municipality | Province | Parties in council | Seats | Governing party or coalition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| eThekwini | KwaZulu-Natal | 26 | 222 | ANC/EFF Coalition |
| City of Johannesburg | Gauteng | 18 | 270 | ANC/EFF/PA Coalition |
| Cape Town | Western Cape | 17 | 231 | DA |
| City of Ekurhuleni | Gauteng | 16 | 224 | ANC/EFF/AIC Coalition |
| City of Tshwane | Gauteng | 15 | 214 | DA/ActionSA/FF Plus/ACDP/UDM/COPE Coalition |
| Nelson Mandela Bay | Eastern Cape | 13 | 120 | ANC/EFF/NA/AIC/PAC Coalition |
| Rustenburg | North West | 13 | 90 | Hung Council |
| Dr J.S. Moroka | Mpumalanga | 11 | 62 | ANC |
| Drakenstein | Western Cape | 11 | 65 | DA |
| Maluti-a-Phofung | Free State | 11 | 70 | ANC |
| Bushbuckridge | Mpumalanga | 10 | 76 | ANC |
| Collins Chabane | Limpopo | 10 | 71 | ANC |
Why this shapes service delivery
Council composition is not merely a political matter. A council that cannot form a stable majority struggles to pass a budget on time, and a municipality without an approved budget cannot lawfully spend on new projects. Repeated changes of mayor and municipal manager interrupt capital programmes and are associated with weaker audit outcomes.
This is the practical link between the politics of a council and whether water reaches households, and it is why every profile on this site records the council composition alongside the financial and service figures.
What happens to a seat mid-term
If a ward councillor leaves, a by-election is held in that ward within 90 days. If a proportional representation councillor leaves, the party simply fills the seat from its list. That difference means the balance of a council can shift without any public vote at all.
Common questions
Who decides how many councillors a municipality has?
The MEC responsible for local government in the province, by formula based on the number of registered voters, within limits set in the Municipal Structures Act.
Can a council change its own size?
No. The determination is made provincially ahead of each election, and applies for the term.
Does a bigger council cost more?
Yes. Councillor remuneration appears as a separate line in every municipality’s financial statements, and is shown in the finances section of each profile on this site.
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