Durban is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South Africa, on the Natal Bay of the Indian Ocean, Durban is South Africa's busiest port and was formerly named Port Natal. North of the harbour and city centre lies the mouth of the Umgeni River; the flat city centre rises to the hills of the Berea on the west; and to the south, running along the coast, is the Bluff. Durban is the seat of the larger eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, which spans an area of 2,556 km2 (987 sq mi) and had a population of 4.2 million in 2022, making the metropolitan population one of Africa's largest on the Indian Ocean. Within the city limits, Durban's population was 595,061 in 2011. The city has a humid subtropical climate, with hot, wet summers and mild, dry winters.
Municipal elections were held in South Africa on 1 March 2006, to elect members to the local governing councils in the municipalities of South Africa. The municipalities form the local government of South Africa and are subdivisions of the provinces, thus making them responsible for local service delivery, such as electricity, water and fire services.
Vulamehlo Local Municipality was a local municipality in Ugu District Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal. It was located south of the eThekwini municipality and bordered by uMdoni to the east, Mkhambathini and Richmond to the north and Ubuhlebezwe to the west. There is an almost equal split of land between commercial agriculture and traditional settlement areas. 48% of the area is held under communal ownership through traditional authorities; the balance of the area is privately owned, except for Vernon Crookes Nature Reserve, which is managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. In 2016 the municipality was divided between eThekwini and uMdoni.
A series of South African municipal by-elections was held in 2008 for ward seats on local municipal councils throughout the country. These by-elections were held to replace deceased, resigned or incapacitated councillors.
The Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality which governs Bloemfontein and surrounding towns in the Free State province of South Africa. Mangaung is a Sesotho word meaning "place of cheetahs", as it was not uncommon for the Basotho to name warrior regiments after ferocious animals.
uMhlathuze Local Municipality is an administrative area in the King Cetshwayo District Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. The municipality is named after the Mhlatuze River.
uMdoni Municipality is a local municipality within the Ugu District Municipality, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. uMdoni is the isiZulu name for the indigenous forest waterberry plant.
uMuziwabantu Municipality is a local municipality within the Ugu District Municipality, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. uMuziwabantu is an isiZulu word meaning "the people's home", or "a home with wide open doors where everyone is welcome". The main source of income for the area is derived from the municipality's extensive wattle, gum, pine and poplar plantations, and associated industries, including saw mills and furniture-making factories.
Mkhambathini Municipality is a local municipality within the Umgungundlovu District Municipality, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Mkhabathini is an isiZulu word derived from eMkhambathini meaning "the place of acacia trees".
Umvoti Municipality is a local municipality within the Umzinyathi District Municipality, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.
Zandile Ruth Thelma Gumede is a South African who has been serving as a Member of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature since 2020. She served as the Executive Mayor of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality from 2016 until 2019. Gumede is a member of the African National Congress. And the current Chair Person of the African National Congress (ANC) at EThekwini Region.
Thomas Mxolisi Kaunda is a South African politician from KwaZulu-Natal serving as the Mayor of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality since 2019. He was the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison from 2016 to 2019 and a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature from 2009 to 2019. Kaunda is a member of the ruling African National Congress (ANC).
Makoti Sibongile Khawula is a South African politician and previous anti-apartheid activist from KwaZulu-Natal serving as a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa for the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party since 2014. Khawula is known for her insistence on speaking Zulu in Parliament.
The eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality council consists of 222 members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. 111 councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in 111 wards, while the remaining 111 are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received.
The Ray Nkonyeni Local Municipality council consists of seventy-one members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Thirty-six councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in thirty-six wards, while the remaining thirty-five 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 forty-seven seats on the council.
Philani Godfrey Mavundla is a South African politician and business tycoon who has been the Mayor of the Umvoti Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal since 2023, having previously served from 2011 to 2013 as a member of the African National Congress. He served as the Deputy Mayor of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality from 2021 until 2022. He is the founder and current leader of the Abantu Batho Congress, a party he founded in early-2020 after he resigned from the National Freedom Party (NFP).
Joice Nondumiso Cele is a South African politician who has been a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature since 2019, representing the African National Congress. She previously served as an eThekwini Metro councillor.
Belinda Francis Scott, formerly Belinda Barrett, is a South African politician who was KwaZulu-Natal's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Finance from 2014 to 2019. She served several terms in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature from 1994 to 2019, representing the African National Congress (ANC) from 2002 onwards after defecting from both the Democratic Party and the Inkatha Freedom Party. After she left the provincial legislature in 2019, she served as Deputy Mayor of eThekwini from September 2019 until she resigned from politics in February 2021.
Magwaza Alfred Maphalala was a South African politician and trade unionist from KwaZulu-Natal. He represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1999 until his death in 2003. He was also a stalwart of the South African Communist Party (SACP) in KwaZulu-Natal.
Visvin Gopal Reddy is a South African businessman and politician from Durban. He has been the leader of African Democratic Change since 2020 and represents the party as a local councillor in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality.
