# Umzimvubu Local Municipality

Umzimvubu Municipality (Xhosa: uMasipala wase Umzimvubu) is a local municipality within the Alfred Nzo District Municipality, in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Umzimvubu, the name of the Mzimvubu River, is an isiXhosa word meaning "home of the hippopotamus". The municipal area comprises an area of 2506 square kilometres. The municipality has undergone a number of amendments in terms of municipal and ward demarcation which has a profound impact on planning in the area.

## Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:
| Place | Code | Area (km$^2$) | Population | Most spoken language |
| Amahlubi | 23801 | 92.17 | 2,814 | Xhosa |
| Bakoena | 23802 | 528.40 | 31,417 | Sotho |
| Bhele | 23803 | 2.66 | 540 | Xhosa |
| Fikeni | 23804 | 142.30 | 15,767 | Xhosa |
| Hlubi | 23805 | 52.81 | 4,233 | Xhosa |
| Ludidi | 23806 | 281.33 | 13,846 | Xhosa |
| Lupindo | 23807 | 187.89 | 12,034 | Xhosa |
| Lwandlolubomvu | 23808 | 3.76 | 787 | Xhosa |
| Makaula | 23809 | 1,488.73 | 100,632 | Xhosa |
| Malubelube | 23810 | 68.68 | 21,730 | Xhosa |
| Mandileni | 296083 296101 296102 296149 | 11.70 | 2,267 | Xhosa |
| Manguzela | 23812 | 117.54 | 12,044 | Xhosa |
| Matandela | 23813 | 98.75 | 4,985 | Xhosa |
| Maxesibeni | 23814 | 97.92 | 5,512 | Xhosa |
| Mosesh | 23815 | 474.54 | 35,501 | Sotho |
| Mount Ayliff | 23816 | 19.52 | 4,881 | Xhosa |
| Mount Frere | 23817 | 14.74 | 7,655 | Xhosa |
| Mpoza | 23818 | 210.04 | 11,604 | Xhosa |
| Mzongwana | 23819 | 244.84 | 13,100 | Xhosa |
| Sibi | 23820 | 326.42 | 30,275 | Xhosa |
| Umzimvubu Part 1 | 23821 | 55.55 | 2,268 | Xhosa |
| Umzimvubu Part 2 | 23825 | 162.00 | 721 | Xhosa |
| Xesibe | 23822 | 385.59 | 41,825 | Xhosa |

## Politics

The municipal council consists of fifty-five members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Twenty-eight councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in twenty-eight wards, while the remaining twenty-seven 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 African National Congress (ANC) won a majority of forty-two seats on the council. The following table shows the results of the election.
| Party | Party | Ward | Ward | Ward | List | List | List | Total seats |
| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Total seats |
| | African National Congress | 38,169 | 77.60 | 28 | 37,352 | 76.09 | 14 | 42 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 4,884 | 9.93 | 0 | 4,955 | 10.09 | 6 | 6 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 2,042 | 4.15 | 0 | 2,018 | 4.11 | 2 | 2 |
| | African Transformation Movement | 1,352 | 2.75 | 0 | 1,370 | 2.79 | 2 | 2 |
| | United Democratic Movement | 1,264 | 2.57 | 0 | 1,310 | 2.67 | 2 | 2 |
| | African Independent Congress | 585 | 1.19 | 0 | 1,448 | 2.95 | 1 | 1 |
| | Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party | 330 | 0.67 | 0 | 208 | 0.42 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent candidates | 379 | 0.77 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | Socialist Party of South Africa | 99 | 0.20 | 0 | 241 | 0.49 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent South African National Civic Organisation | 86 | 0.17 | 0 | 188 | 0.38 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 49,190 | 100.00 | 28 | 49,090 | 100.00 | 27 | 55 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 49,190 | 97.93 | | 49,090 | 97.79 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 1,042 | 2.07 | | 1,111 | 2.21 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 50,232 | 100.00 | | 50,201 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 106,760 | 47.05 | | 106,760 | 47.02 | | |