# Swellendam Local Municipality elections

The Swellendam Local Municipality council consists of eleven members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Six councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in six wards, while the remaining 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 1 November 2021, the Democratic Alliance (DA) retained its majority of six seats on the council.

## Results

The following table shows the composition of the council after past elections.
| Event | ANC | DA | Other | Total |
| 2000 election | 5 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
| 2002 floor-crossing | 5 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| 2004 floor-crossing | 6 | 4 | 0 | 10 |
| 2006 election | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 2007 floor-crossing | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 2011 election | 4 | 4 | 1 | 9 |
| 2016 election | 5 | 6 | 0 | 11 |
| 2021 election | 4 | 6 | 1 | 11 |

## December 2000 election

The following table shows the results of the 2000 election.
| Party | Party | Ward | Ward | Ward | List | List | List | Total seats |
| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Total seats |
| | Democratic Alliance | 3,589 | 47.77 | 3 | 3,692 | 49.07 | 2 | 5 |
| | African National Congress | 3,393 | 45.16 | 2 | 3,433 | 45.63 | 3 | 5 |
| | Pan Africanist Congress of Azania | 423 | 5.63 | 0 | 399 | 5.30 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent candidates | 108 | 1.44 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| Total | Total | 7,513 | 100.00 | 5 | 7,524 | 100.00 | 5 | 10 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 7,513 | 98.80 | | 7,524 | 98.87 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 91 | 1.20 | | 86 | 1.13 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 7,604 | 100.00 | | 7,610 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 11,319 | 67.18 | | 11,319 | 67.23 | | |

### October 2002 floor crossing

In terms of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution and the judgment of the Constitutional Court in United Democratic Movement v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others, in the period from 8–22 October 2002 councillors had the opportunity to cross the floor to a different political party without losing their seats.
In the Swellendam council, three councillors from the Democratic Alliance (DA) crossed to the New National Party (NNP), which had formerly been part of the DA.
| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after |
| African National Congress | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Democratic Alliance | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| New National Party | – | 2 | 2 |

### By-elections from October 2002 to August 2004

The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the floor crossing periods in October 2002 and September 2004.
| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor |
| 19 March 2003 | 2 | | African National Congress | | African National Congress |
| 19 March 2003 | 4 | | New National Party | | Democratic Alliance |

### September 2004 floor crossing

Another floor-crossing period occurred on 1–15 September 2004, in which the remaining NNP councillor crossed to the ANC.
| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after |
| African National Congress | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Democratic Alliance | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| New National Party | 1 | 1 | 0 |

## March 2006 election

The following table shows the results of the 2006 election.
| Party | Party | Ward | Ward | Ward | List | List | List | Total seats |
| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Total seats |
| | African National Congress | 3,029 | 38.57 | 3 | 2,985 | 38.18 | 1 | 4 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 2,308 | 29.39 | 1 | 2,425 | 31.01 | 2 | 3 |
| | Independent Democrats | 1,891 | 24.08 | 1 | 1,972 | 25.22 | 1 | 2 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 430 | 5.47 | 0 | 437 | 5.59 | 1 | 1 |
| | Independent candidates | 196 | 2.50 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| Total | Total | 7,854 | 100.00 | 5 | 7,819 | 100.00 | 5 | 10 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 7,854 | 98.45 | | 7,819 | 98.01 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 124 | 1.55 | | 159 | 1.99 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 7,978 | 100.00 | | 7,978 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 13,334 | 59.83 | | 13,334 | 59.83 | | |

### September 2007 floor crossing

The final floor-crossing period occurred on 1–15 September 2007; floor-crossing was subsequently abolished in 2008 by the Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution. In the Swellendam council, one councillor from the African National Congress crossed to the Independent Democrats.
| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after |
| African National Congress | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Democratic Alliance | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Independent Democrats | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| African Christian Democratic Party | 1 | 0 | 1 |

## May 2011 election

The following table shows the results of the 2011 election.
| Party | Party | Ward | Ward | Ward | List | List | List | Total seats |
| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Total seats |
| | African National Congress | 4,336 | 41.19 | 2 | 4,490 | 42.58 | 2 | 4 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 4,270 | 40.56 | 3 | 4,359 | 41.34 | 1 | 4 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 683 | 6.49 | 0 | 686 | 6.51 | 1 | 1 |
| | National Independent Civic Organisation | 462 | 4.39 | 0 | 455 | 4.32 | 0 | 0 |
| | Civic Independent | 254 | 2.41 | 0 | 274 | 2.60 | 0 | 0 |
| | Congress of the People | 145 | 1.38 | 0 | 154 | 1.46 | 0 | 0 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 129 | 1.23 | 0 | 107 | 1.01 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent candidates | 182 | 1.73 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | National People's Party | 67 | 0.64 | 0 | 19 | 0.18 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 10,528 | 100.00 | 5 | 10,544 | 100.00 | 4 | 9 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 10,528 | 98.99 | | 10,544 | 99.12 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 107 | 1.01 | | 94 | 0.88 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 10,635 | 100.00 | | 10,638 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 15,909 | 66.85 | | 15,909 | 66.87 | | |

### By-elections from May 2011 to August 2016

The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the elections in May 2011 and August 2016.
| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor |
| 4 February 2015 | 5 | | African National Congress | | African National Congress |

## August 2016 election

The following table shows the results of the 2016 election.
| Party | Party | Ward | Ward | Ward | List | List | List | Total seats |
| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Total seats |
| | Democratic Alliance | 5,865 | 47.59 | 2 | 5,916 | 48.30 | 4 | 6 |
| | African National Congress | 5,484 | 44.50 | 4 | 5,490 | 44.82 | 1 | 5 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 260 | 2.11 | 0 | 247 | 2.02 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa | 158 | 1.28 | 0 | 151 | 1.23 | 0 | 0 |
| | Civic Independent | 133 | 1.08 | 0 | 128 | 1.04 | 0 | 0 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 106 | 0.86 | 0 | 110 | 0.90 | 0 | 0 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 103 | 0.84 | 0 | 101 | 0.82 | 0 | 0 |
| | Community and Workers Alliance | 98 | 0.80 | 0 | 106 | 0.87 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent candidates | 117 | 0.95 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| Total | Total | 12,324 | 100.00 | 6 | 12,249 | 100.00 | 5 | 11 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 12,324 | 98.90 | | 12,249 | 98.67 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 137 | 1.10 | | 165 | 1.33 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 12,461 | 100.00 | | 12,414 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 18,881 | 66.00 | | 18,881 | 65.75 | | |
In a by-election held on 24 July 2019, the DA managed to win a ward from the ANC.
| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor |
| 24 July 2019 | 2 | | African National Congress | | Democratic Alliance |
The council was reconfigured as seen below:
| Party | Party | Seats | Seats | Seats |
| Party | Party | Ward | List | Total |
| | Democratic Alliance | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| | African National Congress | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Total | Total | 6 | 5 | 11 |
The local council sends one representative, a member of the Democratic Alliance, to the council of the Overberg District Municipality.

## November 2021 election

The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.
| Party | Party | Ward | Ward | Ward | List | List | List | Total seats |
| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Total seats |
| | Democratic Alliance | 6,150 | 52.14 | 3 | 6,219 | 52.30 | 3 | 6 |
| | African National Congress | 4,454 | 37.76 | 3 | 4,699 | 39.52 | 1 | 4 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 370 | 3.14 | 0 | 368 | 3.10 | 1 | 1 |
| | Western Province Party | 292 | 2.48 | 0 | 287 | 2.41 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent candidates | 277 | 2.35 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | Good | 88 | 0.75 | 0 | 96 | 0.81 | 0 | 0 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 56 | 0.47 | 0 | 87 | 0.73 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa | 60 | 0.51 | 0 | 69 | 0.58 | 0 | 0 |
| | Cape Independence Party | 22 | 0.19 | 0 | 39 | 0.33 | 0 | 0 |
| | Patriotic Alliance | 26 | 0.22 | 0 | 26 | 0.22 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 11,795 | 100.00 | 6 | 11,890 | 100.00 | 5 | 11 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 11,795 | 98.59 | | 11,890 | 97.67 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 169 | 1.41 | | 284 | 2.33 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 11,964 | 100.00 | | 12,174 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 20,647 | 57.95 | | 20,647 | 58.96 | | |

### By-elections from November 2021

The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period since the election in November 2021.
| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor |
| 22 March 2023 | 2 | | Democratic Alliance | | African National Congress |
In a by-election in ward 2, held on 22 March 2023 after the previous DA councillor was expelled, the ANC narrowly won the seat. The Patriotic Alliance (PA) increased its share from less than 1% in 2021 to 31%, finishing second, and taking votes from both the DA (49% to 30%) and ANC (48% to 37%).