# Stellenbosch Local Municipality elections

The Stellenbosch Local Municipality council consists of forty-three members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Twenty-two councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in twenty-two wards, while the remaining twenty-one are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received. In the 2021 local government elections, the Democratic Alliance (DA) received a majority of twenty-eight seats on the council.

## Results

The following table shows the composition of the council after past elections.
| Event | ACDP | ANC | DA | EFF | Other | Total |
| 2000 election | 2 | 14 | 15 | — | 4 | 35 |
| 2002 floor-crossing | 2 | 14 | 12 | — | 7 | 35 |
| 2004 floor-crossing | 2 | 20 | 11 | — | 2 | 35 |
| 2006 election | 2 | 16 | 15 | — | 4 | 37 |
| 2007 floor-crossing | 2 | 17 | 15 | — | 3 | 37 |
| 2011 election | 1 | 11 | 25 | — | 6 | 43 |
| 2016 election | 1 | 8 | 30 | 2 | 2 | 43 |
| 2021 election | 1 | 8 | 28 | 2 | 6 | 45 |

## 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 | 12,426 | 41.90 | 8 | 12,985 | 43.79 | 7 | 15 |
| | African National Congress | 12,032 | 40.58 | 10 | 12,128 | 40.90 | 4 | 14 |
| | Alliance for the Community | 1,848 | 6.23 | 0 | 1,494 | 5.04 | 2 | 2 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 1,515 | 5.11 | 0 | 1,421 | 4.79 | 2 | 2 |
| | United Democratic Movement | 1,015 | 3.42 | 0 | 1,110 | 3.74 | 1 | 1 |
| | Kayamandi Community Alliance | 384 | 1.29 | 0 | 515 | 1.74 | 1 | 1 |
| | Independent candidates | 433 | 1.46 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| Total | Total | 29,653 | 100.00 | 18 | 29,653 | 100.00 | 17 | 35 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 29,653 | 98.42 | | 29,653 | 98.43 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 476 | 1.58 | | 474 | 1.57 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 30,129 | 100.00 | | 30,127 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 55,422 | 54.36 | | 55,422 | 54.36 | | |

### 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 Stellenbosch council, three councillors from the Democratic Alliance (DA) crossed to the New National Party (NNP), which had formerly been part of the DA. The two councillors of the Alliance for the Community also crossed to the NNP.
| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after |
| African National Congress | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| Democratic Alliance | 15 | 3 | 12 |
| New National Party | – | 5 | 5 |
| African Christian Democratic Party | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| United Democratic Movement | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Kayamandi Community Alliance | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Alliance for the Community | 2 | 2 | 0 |

### 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 newly elected councillor |
| 18 June 2003 | 5 | Democratic Alliance | Democratic Alliance |
| 18 June 2003 | 12 | Democratic Alliance | African National Congress |
| 29 April 2004 | 11 | African National Congress | African National Congress |

### September 2004 floor crossing

Another floor-crossing period occurred on 1–15 September 2004, in which the five NNP councillors crossed to the ANC.
| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after |
| African National Congress | 15 | 5 | 20 |
| Democratic Alliance | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| African Christian Democratic Party | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| United Democratic Movement | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Kayamandi Community Alliance | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| New National Party | 5 | 5 | 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 | 12,976 | 42.10 | 10 | 12,935 | 41.98 | 6 | 16 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 12,719 | 41.26 | 9 | 12,791 | 41.51 | 6 | 15 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 1,539 | 4.99 | 0 | 1,422 | 4.62 | 2 | 2 |
| | Independent Democrats | 1,178 | 3.82 | 0 | 1,576 | 5.11 | 2 | 2 |
| | Kayamandi Community Alliance | 769 | 2.49 | 0 | 730 | 2.37 | 1 | 1 |
| | United Democratic Movement | 492 | 1.60 | 0 | 685 | 2.22 | 1 | 1 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 235 | 0.76 | 0 | 283 | 0.92 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent candidates | 388 | 1.26 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | Pan Africanist Congress of Azania | 206 | 0.67 | 0 | 148 | 0.48 | 0 | 0 |
| | United Independent Front | 158 | 0.51 | 0 | 126 | 0.41 | 0 | 0 |
| | First Community Party of South Africa | 164 | 0.53 | 0 | 116 | 0.38 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 30,824 | 100.00 | 19 | 30,812 | 100.00 | 18 | 37 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 30,824 | 98.33 | | 30,812 | 98.30 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 522 | 1.67 | | 532 | 1.70 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 31,346 | 100.00 | | 31,344 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 64,460 | 48.63 | | 64,460 | 48.63 | | |

### 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 Stellenbosch council, one councillor of the Independent Democrats crossed to the African National Congress.
| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after |
| African National Congress | 16 | 1 | 17 |
| Democratic Alliance | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| African Christian Democratic Party | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Independent Democrats | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Kayamandi Community Alliance | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| United Democratic Movement | 1 | 0 | 1 |

### By-elections from September 2007 to May 2011

The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the floor crossing period in September 2007 and the election in May 2011.
| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor |
| 19 March 2008 | 17 | Democratic Alliance | Independent |
| 24 June 2009 | 16 | Democratic Alliance | Democratic Alliance |
| 24 August 2010 | 1 | African National Congress | Democratic Alliance |

## 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 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 28,515 | 58.26 | 17 | 29,166 | 59.69 | 8 | 25 |
| | African National Congress | 12,116 | 24.75 | 5 | 12,180 | 24.93 | 6 | 11 |
| | Stellenbosch Civic Association | 3,290 | 6.72 | 0 | 2,994 | 6.13 | 3 | 3 |
| | Congress of the People | 1,025 | 2.09 | 0 | 958 | 1.96 | 1 | 1 |
| | National People's Party | 740 | 1.51 | 0 | 710 | 1.45 | 1 | 1 |
| | Stellenbosch People's Alliance | 731 | 1.49 | 0 | 616 | 1.26 | 1 | 1 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 657 | 1.34 | 0 | 554 | 1.13 | 1 | 1 |
| | Studente Stem Party | 362 | 0.74 | 0 | 383 | 0.78 | 0 | 0 |
| | South African Progressive Civic Organisation | 363 | 0.74 | 0 | 311 | 0.64 | 0 | 0 |
| | National Freedom Party | 218 | 0.45 | 0 | 322 | 0.66 | 0 | 0 |
| | United Democratic Movement | 174 | 0.36 | 0 | 253 | 0.52 | 0 | 0 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 204 | 0.42 | 0 | 156 | 0.32 | 0 | 0 |
| | Kayamandi Community Alliance | 163 | 0.33 | 0 | 178 | 0.36 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent candidates | 254 | 0.52 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | Universal Civics of South Africa | 94 | 0.19 | 0 | 42 | 0.09 | 0 | 0 |
| | United Independent Front | 15 | 0.03 | 0 | 37 | 0.08 | 0 | 0 |
| | United Christian Democratic Party | 24 | 0.05 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| Total | Total | 48,945 | 100.00 | 22 | 48,860 | 100.00 | 21 | 43 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 48,945 | 98.40 | | 48,860 | 98.52 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 795 | 1.60 | | 733 | 1.48 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 49,740 | 100.00 | | 49,593 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 79,551 | 62.53 | | 79,551 | 62.34 | | |

### 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 |
| 6 March 2013 | 22 | | Democratic Alliance | | Democratic Alliance |

## 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 | 38,821 | 69.71 | 18 | 39,191 | 69.07 | 12 | 30 |
| | African National Congress | 10,693 | 19.20 | 4 | 11,413 | 20.11 | 4 | 8 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 2,052 | 3.68 | 0 | 2,108 | 3.72 | 2 | 2 |
| | Democratic New Civic Association | 1,055 | 1.89 | 0 | 802 | 1.41 | 1 | 1 |
| | People's Democratic Movement | 778 | 1.40 | 0 | 659 | 1.16 | 1 | 1 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 661 | 1.19 | 0 | 650 | 1.15 | 1 | 1 |
| | African Independent Congress | 319 | 0.57 | 0 | 506 | 0.89 | 0 | 0 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 412 | 0.74 | 0 | 387 | 0.68 | 0 | 0 |
| | United Franschhoek Valley | 164 | 0.29 | 0 | 218 | 0.38 | 0 | 0 |
| | Khoisan Kingdom and All People | 132 | 0.24 | 0 | 165 | 0.29 | 0 | 0 |
| | Congress of the People | 69 | 0.12 | 0 | 168 | 0.30 | 0 | 0 |
| | Alliance for Democratic Freedom | 119 | 0.21 | 0 | 109 | 0.19 | 0 | 0 |
| | Christian Democrats | 96 | 0.17 | 0 | 116 | 0.20 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent candidates | 162 | 0.29 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | United Democratic Movement | 39 | 0.07 | 0 | 121 | 0.21 | 0 | 0 |
| | African People's Convention | 60 | 0.11 | 0 | 89 | 0.16 | 0 | 0 |
| | South African Progressive Civic Organisation | 23 | 0.04 | 0 | 39 | 0.07 | 0 | 0 |
| | Nationalist Coloured Party of South Africa | 16 | 0.03 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | Ubuntu Party | 15 | 0.03 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| Total | Total | 55,686 | 100.00 | 22 | 56,741 | 100.00 | 21 | 43 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 55,686 | 99.19 | | 56,741 | 99.28 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 456 | 0.81 | | 413 | 0.72 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 56,142 | 100.00 | | 57,154 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 91,881 | 61.10 | | 91,881 | 62.20 | | |
The local council sends five representatives to the council of the Cape Winelands District Municipality: four from the Democratic Alliance and one from the African National Congress

### By-elections from August 2016 to November 2021

The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the elections in August 2016 and 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 |
| 10 April 2019 | 9 | | Democratic Alliance | | Democratic Alliance |

## 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 | 26,133 | 60.80 | 19 | 26,736 | 62.13 | 9 | 28 |
| | African National Congress | 6,939 | 16.14 | 4 | 7,123 | 16.55 | 4 | 8 |
| | Good | 2,572 | 5.98 | 0 | 2,739 | 6.36 | 3 | 3 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 1,824 | 4.24 | 0 | 1,798 | 4.18 | 2 | 2 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 1,073 | 2.50 | 0 | 1,039 | 2.41 | 1 | 1 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 861 | 2.00 | 0 | 922 | 2.14 | 1 | 1 |
| | Independent candidates | 1,029 | 2.39 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | Patriotic Alliance | 499 | 1.16 | 0 | 497 | 1.15 | 1 | 1 |
| | People's Democratic Movement | 468 | 1.09 | 0 | 382 | 0.89 | 1 | 1 |
| | Democratic New Civic Association | 312 | 0.73 | 0 | 295 | 0.69 | 0 | 0 |
| | Cape Coloured Congress | 242 | 0.56 | 0 | 288 | 0.67 | 0 | 0 |
| | African Transformation Movement | 183 | 0.43 | 0 | 233 | 0.54 | 0 | 0 |
| | Pan Africanist Congress of Azania | 164 | 0.38 | 0 | 187 | 0.43 | 0 | 0 |
| | Cape Independence Party | 132 | 0.31 | 0 | 178 | 0.41 | 0 | 0 |
| | United Democratic Movement | 129 | 0.30 | 0 | 174 | 0.40 | 0 | 0 |
| | Africa Restoration Alliance | 79 | 0.18 | 0 | 90 | 0.21 | 0 | 0 |
| | Spectrum National Party | 76 | 0.18 | 0 | 73 | 0.17 | 0 | 0 |
| | Al Jama-ah | 75 | 0.17 | 0 | 71 | 0.16 | 0 | 0 |
| | Congress of the People | 53 | 0.12 | 0 | 80 | 0.19 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa | 56 | 0.13 | 0 | 44 | 0.10 | 0 | 0 |
| | Economic Emancipation Forum | 25 | 0.06 | 0 | 49 | 0.11 | 0 | 0 |
| | African Freedom Revolution | 17 | 0.04 | 0 | 36 | 0.08 | 0 | 0 |
| | African Progressive Movement | 43 | 0.10 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| Total | Total | 42,984 | 100.00 | 23 | 43,034 | 100.00 | 22 | 45 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 42,984 | 98.78 | | 43,034 | 98.89 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 531 | 1.22 | | 481 | 1.11 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 43,515 | 100.00 | | 43,515 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 94,591 | 46.00 | | 94,591 | 46.00 | | |

### 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 newly elected councillor |
| 8 Mar 2023 | 21 | Democratic Alliance | Democratic Alliance |
| 28 Aug 2024 | 17 | Democratic Alliance | Democratic Alliance |
| 23 Oct 2024 | 8 | Democratic Alliance | Democratic Alliance |
In a by-election in ward 21, held on 8 March 2023 after the previous DA councillor took up a vacancy in parliament, the DA candidate retained the seat for the party with a solid majority. The African Christian Democratic Party increased its share of the vote to take second place.