Electoral system
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 district municipalities, each of which consists of several local municipalities. After the 2016 elections, there were eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district municipalities and 205 local municipalities. [7]
The councils of metropolitan and local municipalities are elected through a system of mixed-member proportional representation, in which half of the seats in each municipality are elected on the first-past-the-post system in single-member wards and the other half of the seats are allocated according to the proportional representation (PR) system. The latter takes into account the number of ward seats won by a party and ensures that the final number of seats held by that party is proportional to their percentage of the total vote. [8]
District municipality councils are partly elected by proportional representation (DC 40% votes) and partly appointed by the councils of the constituent local municipalities (DC 60% votes). Voters in both metropolitan and local municipalities elect a single ward candidate as well as a proportional representative in their municipal council. Residents of municipalities that form part of district councils (that is, excluding metropolitan municipalities) also cast a third vote to elect a proportional representative for their district council in addition to the two votes they cast for their local council. [9] [10]
Timeline
31 October 2021
8:00 – Special voting begins for the over 1.1 million individuals registered. [11]
In Ward 93, Kusakusa Primary School, in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, the IEC allegedly caught individuals committing electoral fraud. An investigation is currently underway regarding the matter. [12]
1 November 2021
8:00 – Elections begin nationwide.
12:00 – A voting station in KwaZulu-Natal is set on fire. [13]
13:00 – A Journalist is arrested and later released following a squabble at a voting station in Soweto. [14]
14:00 – Protests break out in Soweto as President Cyril Ramaphosa makes his way to Chiawelo to cast his ballot. [15]
15:00 – The IEC warns and advises individuals on taking pictures inside voting booths, citing time constraints. [16]
15:30 – Residents dig trenches to bar IEC officials from entering a voting station in the Eastern Cape. [17]
19:00 – Helen Zille is forcibly removed from a voting station in Bethelsdorp. [18]
21:00 – Voting polls close.
Political parties
There are 325 parties contesting the election. [19]
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) has been the majority party in most municipalities across South Africa, with the exception of those in the Western Cape, since 1994. Its overall share of the vote decreased from 61.95% in 2011 to 53.91% in 2016 amid growing discontent regarding the state of the country's economy and perceived corruption within the organisation. The party lost many municipalities and support in the previous municipal elections, including the mayoralty and majority in councils such as Nelson Mandela Bay, Tshwane and Johannesurg. [20] The party had to form coalitions to retain control of the City of Ekurhuleni and many other municipalities. The ANC has managed to gain back control in many municipalities through motions of no confidence. Although the party ousted the Democratic Alliance administration in Nelson Mandela Bay, the party voted to elect a mayor from the United Democratic Movement (UDM). The ANC was led by Jacob Zuma until he was replaced by Cyril Ramaphosa at the 57th National Conference in December 2017. Ramaphosa assumed the presidency in February 2018 and the ANC won the 2019 national elections with a slight decrease in the number of votes. [21] [22] [23] [24] The ANC regained control of the City of Johannesburg on 4 December 2019 following the election of its regional leader, Geoff Makhubo, to the mayoralty. [25] The party voted to remove the UDM mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay on 5 December 2019. [26] The party announced its election manifesto on 27 September 2021. Ramaphosa said that mayors would not be appointed based on popularity. [27]
The official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) increased its total share of the vote from 23.94% in 2011 to 26.90% in 2016. The party gained significant support and control of municipalities all across South Africa whilst assuming control of most Western Cape councils. In addition, the party gained three metropolitan municipalities from the ANC – Tshwane, Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay. [28] [29] [30] The party did increase its majority in City of Cape Town. [31] The DA lost control of the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality in August 2018, after a motion of no confidence ousted the DA mayor Athol Trollip. [32] The party's support decreased in the 2019 national elections. Following the national elections, the DA has shown a growing decrease in support in subsequent municipal by-elections. [33] Mmusi Maimane resigned as DA leader in October 2019, [34] and John Steenhuisen was elected as interim party leader in November 2019. [35] The DA lost control of the City of Johannesburg in December 2019. [36] Steenhuisen was elected leader of the party for a full term in November 2020. The DA launched their manifesto on 25 September 2021. [37]
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is a splinter party of the ANC that was formed in July 2013 by expelled ANC Youth League leader, Julius Malema. The party was considered the kingmaker for the control of many councils in the aftermath of the 2016 municipal elections. The party increased their support in the 2019 national elections and is the second-largest party in three out of the nine provinces. [38] [39] The party launched its manifesto on 26 September 2021. [40]
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) saw an increase in their share of the vote in 2016 to just over 4 percent, which gave them control of 11 local municipalities and 2 district municipalities, they also co-govern Johannesburg as part of a coalition. The party was looking to build on their resurgence within their traditional stronghold of KwaZulu-Natal as well as make inroads in other provinces since, for the first time in their history, the party was led by a new president. [41]
The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) won 0.8% of the vote (229,281 votes) in the 2016 municipal elections and formed a coalition to govern with the DA in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Hessequa. The party significantly increased their support in the 2019 general elections, winning 2.38% of the vote and just over 400,000 votes. In subsequent municipal by-elections, the party has won wards off the DA in the North West and increased their support in Gauteng and Limpopo. [42] [43] The party fielded candidates in 3,158 of the 4,468 wards in 184 of the 257 councils and sought to make inroads in the Western Cape by promising minority rights protection. [44]
The National Freedom Party won 10.4% of the votes cast in KwaZulu-Natal province in 2011, [45] including a majority of seats in the eDumbe Local Municipality and a plurality in Nongoma Local Municipality. The party was disqualified from participating in 2016 after failing to pay the election fee, [46] but is hoping for a good result in KwaZulu-Natal. However, it experienced a setback with the death of its leader, Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi, in September. [47]
ActionSA was a new party, established by the former mayor of Johannesburg Herman Mashaba, which gained significant attention especially within the provinces of Gauteng and Kwazulu-Natal. The party gained influential former DA and ANC members. [48]
Good was established by Patricia de Lille in 2018, and ran candidates in 1000 wards and 45 municipalities. It was particularly focused on the Western Cape, where it won 3% of the vote in the provincial legislature in the 2019 South African general election. [49] [50]
Pre-election coalition governments
The 2016 municipal elections resulted in many hung councils across South Africa. The ANC lost its council majority in four metropolitan municipalities – Tshwane, Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela Bay, City of Ekurhuleni. This consequently created an opportunity for opposition parties to form coalitions to achieve the mayoralties of these key municipalities. The EFF was essentially seen as the kingmaker and voted with the DA to install DA mayors in three out of the four metros and also in smaller local municipalities. [51] [52] [53] The ANC managed to hold on to the City of Ekurhuleni through a coalition with smaller parties, and later won back the City of Johannesburg. [54] [55]
Eventually, through motions of no-confidence, the ANC managed to regain control of a select few municipalities. Even though an ANC-sponsored motion of no confidence removed the DA administration in Nelson Mandela Bay, the ANC voted for a United Democratic Movement (UDM) mayor. [56] [57]
In July 2019, the EFF announced that it would no longer support the DA or ANC in minority councils. [58] The party made this announcement after the DA rejected their offer for co-governance in the Johannesburg and Tshwane metropolitan municipalities. [59] The EFF sought the Tshwane mayoralty and MMCs in the Johannesburg Mayoral Committee and the DA declined the EFF's proposal, stating that they would rather prefer that the status quo remain. [60] [61]
Campaign issues
Corruption and basic municipal management were significant campaign issues in the run up to the election. The ANC lead their election campaign with the slogan "We will do and be better" in recognition of the governing party's weak record in municipal governance whilst committing to improve. [62] The DA campaigned on "get the basics right" and "getting things done" also in reference to the ANC's weak record in municipal government whilst the EFF used the slogan "Jobs and Land, Now!" in a continuation of its 2016 election slogan. [62]
Municipal governance
The ANC pledged select and appoint better local representatives who are "committed to service delivery" and to "deliver services promptly and consistently." [63] This included a commitment to implement lifestyle audits and signed performance contracts. [62] The party also promised to minimize the impact of the South African energy crisis by stabilising the state energy provider's, Eskom, financial stability and increase the use of renewable energy. [62]
The DA drew attention to their own track record of municipal management in comparison to the ANC's troubled record of local governance as a reason to vote for them. [62] [64] DA run municipalities such as Cape Town and George were given by the party as examples where they had to use their position in government to work to minimize the impact of the South African energy crisis on a local level, maintain infrastructure, and provide affordable mass transportation services. [65]
The EFF promised to implement a property wealth tax to subsidise indigent families, a land audit to help reduce land hunger, and expanded use renewable energy and localised waste water recycling. [62] The IFP promised to provide an alternative to what they described as the "ANC's failure to govern" [66] by requiring IFP representatives individually pledge to govern with integrity. [67] The GOOD party pledged to increase municipal investment in informal settlements, support higher density housing, reduce property speculation, abolish e-tolls, and encourage municipalities to increase their use of renewable energy. [62] ActionSA promised equitable rates and free basic services for indigent households whilst cutting unnecessary costs in local government, reducing illegal electrical connections, and keeping public spaces clean. [62] The Freedom Front Plus promised to end Affirmative Action in municipalities and to do an audit on all municipal employees' qualifications to ensure that they are qualified for their jobs. Party leader Pieter Groenewald said that all appointments should be made on merit. The party advocated for the decentralisation of municipalities, as Groenewald alleged that the amalgamation of municipalities had weakened service delivery. [68] [69]
Corruption
The ANC stated that they would "spare no effort in rooting out corruption" and committed to implement the Anti-corruption Strategy under the Justice and Crime Prevention Cluster, SARS Anti-Corruption Unit. [63] The DA promised to eliminate corruption by adopting and applying "best practice in good governance," [65] end the practice of cadre deployment, and appoint professional government officials; the party also highlighted the relatively high number of clean audits DA-run municipalities have received in the Western Cape. [65] The EFF has proposed setting up corruption hotlines and compensating whistleblowers. [62] The IFP promised to reduce corruption by establishing a specialised corruption court. [66] GOOD party also promised to end cadre deployment and prosecute corrupt politicians. [62] ActionSA promised to appoint ethical public officials, introduce lifestyle audits and minimum turnaround times on service delivery issues. [62]
Decentralisation
Political parties debated and campaigned on the issue of decentralising power away from the national government towards local authorities, this is most pronounced in the Western Cape province. [70] The DA wants policing, electricity generation, [71] taxation [72] and rail control [73] decentralised to the province, on the other hand the ANC wants to centralise what control local authorities have over policing to national government. [74] Other parties such as the FF+, [75] Cape Coloured Congress and Cape Independence Party (CIP) explicitly campaigned on a tickets of outright independence for the Western Cape province. [76] The DA has stated it supports the right to hold a referendum to Western Cape independence but does not support independence itself. [77] Parties opposed to this call include the ANC, EFF, [78] Al-Jam-ah [79] and GOOD. [77]
Economy
The ANC promised to reduce youth unemployment and increase educational opportunities [63] whilst strengthening social security for vulnerable groups and expanding mass employment programs. [62] The DA stated that they would encourage economic growth in DA run municipalities by increasing the ease of doing business in them and reducing excessive bureaucracy. [65] The EFF pledged to set up municipal level special economic zones to encourage economic growth, support street vendors and black-owned farms. [62] The IFP committed to delivering jobs and enhance food security. [66] GOOD promised to provide policy certainty for investors whilst reducing excessive bureaucracy for businesses. [62] ActionSA promised to repeal restrictive legislation, support youth employment, and implement a property audit to identify and reuse abandoned or stolen buildings. [62] The FF Plus promised to provide land in industrial areas to people who want to start businesses, free of charge and that local businesses must be preferred when it came to tenders. [68]
Crime
The ANC repeated previous election commitments to fight gender based violence, reduce drug abuse and focus on crime reduction in high crime urban areas. [63] The DA promised to reduce crime by expanding investment in localised law enforcement in DA run municipalities whilst focusing on the causes of crime. [65] The IFP committed to working with traditional leaders to provide better security to communities. [66]
Target municipalities
Following the 2019 general elections, political parties started to strategise and plan their 2021 municipal elections campaigns. [80]
City of Cape Town
The African National Congress in the Western Cape announced after the 2019 election results were released, that the results were a platform for the party to retake control of the City of Cape Town. The ANC lost control of the metropolitan municipality in 2006. The results also showed that smaller political parties had made inroads in the city's suburbs and communities. [81] Notable issues campaigned on in the Cape Town mayoral election was the provision of public housing, public safety, and local solutions to the South African energy crisis. [82]
The Democratic Alliance's support in the city dropped. In the national election, the party declined with six percentage points, obtaining only 53%, compared to 59% in the 2014 elections. The party's support decreased from the 67% it had achieved in the 2016 municipal elections to only 56% in the provincial election. [83]
The newly established political party Good, led by former DA mayor Patricia de Lille, and the Economic Freedom Fighters both earned some support in the city. [84] [85]
In April 2021, the DA announced that current mayor Dan Plato, Western Cape provincial leader Bonginkosi Madikizela, and shadow finance minister Geordin Hill-Lewis had applied to be the party's mayoral candidate. Madikizela later resigned as provincial leader and from all active party roles and dropped out of the selection process, following a scandal over his qualifications. Hill-Lewis was considered the front-runner for the position. [86] On 23 August 2021, DA leader John Steenhuisen announced Hill-Lewis as the party's candidate for mayor. [87]
On 22 August 2021, Good Secretary-General and Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, Brett Herron, was announced as the party's mayoral candidate for the metro. [88]
The VF Plus nominated former ID, DA and ANC member Lennit Max as its candidate for mayor. [89] Community activist Marvin Sampson from Mitchells Plain was the Patriotic Alliance's mayoral candidate. [90]
Former Capetonian spokesperson and Cape Coloured Congress leader Fadiel Adams also ran for mayor, while the Spectrum National Party selected Christopher Claassen as the party's mayoral candidate for the city. [91]
eThekwini
In the 2019 general elections, the African National Congress declined in the metropolitan municipality, centred around Durban. In the provincial election, the ANC's support decreased by 11 percentage points compared to 2014 results, and 10 percentage points in the national election. The DA's support in the city remained relatively stable. The decline of the ANC can be attributed to the strong showing of the EFF and the resurgence of the Inkatha Freedom Party. [92] [93] Controversial ANC mayor Zandile Gumede resigned as mayor in 2019 and was replaced with Mxolisi Kaunda. [94] Makhosi Khoza stood as the ActionSA candidate for mayor. [95]
Tshwane
Following the general elections in 2014, the DA received more votes than the then-ruling ANC in the municipality. Analysts at the time suggested that the ANC would lose its majority in 2016. [96]
The Democratic Alliance achieved a plurality of votes in the metropolitan municipality in the 2016 municipal elections. The party formed a coalition with smaller parties that were supported by the EFF. DA Gauteng Provincial Legislature Member Solly Msimanga was elected mayor. Msimanga resigned in February 2019 and was succeeded by DA Member of Parliament Stevens Mokgalapa. [96] In the 2019 elections, the party had a dismal showing and only received 29.52% of the provincial vote in the municipality, even though former mayor Msimanga was the party's premier candidate. The party's support was even lower on the national vote. The ANC regained lost ground, while the EFF made gains. [96] Following the elections, the EFF proposed that the party should co-govern with the DA in the Johannesburg and Tshwane metropolitan municipalities. The DA rejected the EFF's proposal, which led to the EFF withdrawing its support from the DA in all minority councils. [97]
Mokgalapa was removed as mayor via a motion of no-confidence on 5 December 2019, but the Gauteng High Court later suspended his removal. [98] [99] However, he announced his resignation as mayor in February 2020. [100] The DA had selected former MMC for Economic Development and Spatial Planning Randall Williams as its preferred mayoral candidate for the city. [101] On 5 March 2020, the Tshwane Metro Municipality was placed under administration by the Gauteng Provincial Government and the council was consequently dissolved. A new council was supposed to be elected. [102] The DA took the matter to court. On 29 April 2020, the North Gauteng High Court overturned the decision by the provincial government. [103] On 7 May, the ANC lodged an appeal against the judgement. [104] After months of legal challenges, the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned the provincial government's decision on 27 October 2020. [105] Soon after, the DA's Randall Williams was elected mayor. [106] Williams was up against MMC for shared services Sylvester Phokoje for the DA's mayoral candidate position. [86] On 23 August 2021, Williams was announced as the DA's mayoral candidate for the metro in the 2021 local government elections. [107]
Also contesting the mayoralty were Sarah Mabotsa of the Good party and Abel Tau of ActionSA. [108]
City of Johannesburg
The ANC lost control of the City of Johannesburg in 2016, [109] and the Democratic Alliance's mayoral candidate Herman Mashaba assumed the mayoralty. He held the position until he stepped down in 2019. [110] The election for the mayor was held on 4 December 2019. [111] The DA nominated Finance MMC Funzela Ngobeni to succeed Mashaba, while the ANC nominated its regional chair Geoff Makhubo. [112] [113] The EFF designated Musa Novela as its candidate. [114] Makhubo won the election, marking the return of the ANC to the city's executive since its removal in 2016. [115]
Mashaba subsequently announced that he would be running for mayor again under the banner of his new party, ActionSA. [116] Makhubo died on 9 July 2021 and Eunice Mgcina was appointed acting mayor. [117] Former Finance MMC Jolidee Matongo was elected mayor on 10 August 2021. The city lost its mayor for a second time in short sequence, when Matongo was involved in a fatal car accident on 18 September. [118]
DA caucus leader Leah Knott and former MMC for Social Development Dr Mpho Phalatse applied to be the DA's mayoral candidate for the city. [86] On 23 August 2021, Phalatse was announced as the DA's mayoral candidate. [119] Lloyd Phillips was the Good party candidate for mayor. [108]
Nelson Mandela Bay
After the 2016 elections, the DA was the largest party in this previously ANC-controlled metro, but without a majority. Athol Trollip of the DA was elected mayor with the support of smaller parties. He remained in office until he was narrowly voted out in 2018, after a vote of no confidence. ANC and other parties then elected Mongameli Bobani of the United Democratic Movement as the new mayor. He was, in turn, removed in December 2019 by an overwhelming majority through a vote supported by almost all parties in the council.
After a long period with interim leadership, Nqaba Bhanga of the DA was elected mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay in December 2020. He has been nominated by the DA as the party's mayoral candidate for the metro municipality in the 2021 local government elections. [120]
On 13 September, Good announced Lawrence Troon as their candidate for mayor. [108]
Aftermath
Post-election coalition governments
As of 7 November there were still 70 hung councils. [226] Following meetings with other political parties on 6 November, the ANC announced that treasurer-general Paul Mashatile and deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte would lead coalition negotiations with other political parties. [227] [228] During a public address in Soweto on 8 November, President Ramaphosa announced that the ANC would not enter coalitions unconditionally. [229]
On 7 November, the DA announced that it would not enter coalitions with the ANC or EFF, but may partner with ActionSA and Freedom Front Plus. [230]
The GOOD party announced that it will not enter coalitions, rather serving as "constructive opposition". [231]
As of 9 November, ActionSA were negotiating a possible coalition with the DA in Tshwane. It had also received written demands from the EFF, which they refused. [232]
On 13 November, Malema proposed that coalitions should be avoided in the major metropolitan municipalities in Gauteng. He suggested that the EFF should run Tshwane, leaving the ANC to govern Ekurhuleni and ActionSA to govern Johannesburg. [233]
On 15 November, the Patriotic Alliance announced a coalition agreement with the ANC. The PA will have their own mayors, deputy mayors and several mayoral committee members. [234]
On 16 November, EFF Leader Julius Malema announced that the party had terminated coalition discussions with the ANC. [235]
On 17 November, IFP leader Velenkosini Hlabisa announced that it had entered into a coalition agreement with the ANC in the 21 hung councils in KwaZulu-Natal, despite previously saying a week earlier that the party would not form coalitions with the ANC. [236]
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