In the administrative divisions of France, the department is one of the three levels of government under the national level, between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety-six departments are in metropolitan France, and five are overseas departments, which are also classified as overseas regions. Departments are further subdivided into 332 arrondissements, and these are divided into cantons. The last two levels of government have no autonomy; they are the basis of local organisation of police, fire departments and, sometimes, administration of elections.
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-localised and has limited powers. While in some countries, "government" is normally reserved purely for a national administration (government), the term local government is always used specifically in contrast to national government – as well as, in many cases, the activities of sub-national, first-level administrative divisions. Local governments generally act only within powers specifically delegated to them by law and/or directives of a higher level of government. In federal states, local government generally comprises a third or fourth tier of government, whereas in unitary states, local government usually occupies the second or third tier of government.
Since 1 April 1996, Wales has been divided into 22 single-tier principal areas, styled as counties or county boroughs for local government purposes. The elected councils of these areas are responsible for the provision of all local government services, including education, social work, environmental protection, and most highways. Below these there are also elected community councils to which responsibility for specific aspects of the application of local policy may be devolved. The last set of local elections in Wales took place in 2022, with the next due to take place in 2027.
Local government in South Africa consists of municipalities of various types. The largest metropolitan areas are governed by metropolitan municipalities, while the rest of the country is divided into counties called district municipalities, each of which consists of several boroughs called local municipalities. Since the boundary reform at the time of the municipal election of 3 August 2016 there are eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district municipalities and 205 local municipalities.
The functions of local government in the Republic of Ireland are mostly exercised by thirty-one local authorities, termed County, City, or City and County Councils. The principal decision-making body in each of the thirty-one local authorities is composed of the members of the council, elected by universal franchise in local elections every five years from multi-seat local electoral areas using the single transferable vote. Many of the authorities' statutory functions are, however, the responsibility of ministerially appointed career officials termed Chief executives. The competencies of the city and county councils include planning, transport infrastructure, sanitary services, public safety and the provision of public libraries. Each local authority sends representatives to one of three Regional Assemblies.
The City of Cape Town is the metropolitan municipality which governs the city of Cape Town, South Africa and its suburbs and exurbs. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 3,740,026.
Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England, based at the Doncaster Civic Office in Waterdale, central Doncaster. It is one of four local authories in South Yorkshire and provides the majority of local government services in Doncaster. The borough council will become a city council when Doncaster is awarded city status, which was announced in May 2022.
The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or more councillors. The ward is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil parishes and borough and district councils, the electoral ward is the unit used by Welsh principal councils, while the electoral division is the unit used by English county councils and some unitary authorities. Each ward/division has an average electorate of about 5,500 people, but ward population counts can vary substantially. As of 2021 there are 8,694 electoral wards/divisions in the UK.
Cambridge City Council is a district council in the county of Cambridgeshire, which governs the City of Cambridge.
Costa Rica is administratively divided into seven provinces which are subdivided into 83 cantons, and these are further subdivided into districts. Cantons are the only administrative division in Costa Rica that possess local government in the form of municipalities. Each municipality has its own mayor and several representatives, all of them chosen via municipal elections every four years.
The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) is the local legislative body of a city governments in the Philippines. The name of the legislative body comes from the Tagalog words "sanggunian" ("council") – ultimately from the rootword "sangguni" – and "lungsod" ("city"); "city council" is therefore often used as an equivalent term.
The Highland Council, the political body covering the Highland local authority created in 1995, comprises 21 wards, each electing three or four councillors by the single transferable vote system, which creates a form of proportional representation. The total number of councillors is 74, and the main meeting place and main offices are in Glenurquhart Road, Inverness.
Mogale City Local Municipality is a local municipality in West Rand District Municipality, Gauteng, in South Africa.
The City of Preston is a city and non-metropolitan district in Lancashire, England. On the north bank of the River Ribble, it was granted city status in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. The City of Preston district has a population of 143,135 (mid-2019 est.), and lies at the centre of the Central Lancashire sub-region, with a population of 335,000.
Elections for Cambridge City Council were held on Thursday 5 May 2011. As the council is elected by thirds, one seat in each of the wards was up for election, with the exception of Cherry Hinton ward where two seats were up for election due to the early retirement of Councillor Stuart Newbold. The vote took place alongside the 2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum and a Cambridgeshire County Council by-election for Arbury ward.
The City of Glasgow is divided into a number of wards. These electoral districts, as they are also known, are used to elect councillors to Glasgow City Council. The council, composed of the elected members from each ward, provides local government services to the City of Glasgow.
The 2021 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral election was held on 6 May 2021 to elect the mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
The 2021 Southampton City Council election took place in on 6 May 2021, on the same day as other local elections, to elect members of Southampton City Council. The election was originally due to take place in May 2020, to elect to the seats of councillors last elected in 2016, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2021 Hull City Council election took place on 6 May 2021 to elect members of Hull City Council in England. This was on the same day as other nationwide local elections. In March 2020 the government announced that the elections scheduled for 7 May 2020 would be delayed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They were now held at the same time as the elections previously scheduled for 2021. Following a review of Ward boundaries by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) the whole council was elected in 2018, the 2nd placed winning candidate at that election is up for re-election in 2021. The Labour Party was defending overall control of the council.
The 2022 Cardiff Council election took place on 5 May 2022 to elect 79 members to Cardiff Council. On the same day, elections were held to the other 21 local authorities and to community councils in Wales as part of the 2022 Welsh local elections. The previous Cardiff all-council election took place in May 2017 and future elections will take place every five years.
