# Mbhashe Local Municipality

Mbhashe Municipality (Xhosa: uMasipala wase Mbhashe) is a local municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The municipality was constituted in terms of the Municipal Structures Act of 1998 and comprises the areas that previously formed the Elliotdale, Willowvale and Dutywa town councils. The municipality is located in the north eastern part of the Amathole District Municipality. The main administrative office is situated in Dutywa.
Its primary claim to fame is as the birthplace of former President Thabo Mbeki. The Mbanyana Falls, Mbhashe Cultural Village and Donald Wood's Snooker Room number among its attractions. The word Mbashe is derived from isiXhosa. The municipality is named after the Mbashe River. The area also boasts the head offices of the AmaXhosa Kingdom at the Nqadu Great Place.

## Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:
| Place | Code | Area (km$^2$) | Population |
| Bashee | 21001 | 213.82 | 13,524 |
| Bonkolo | 21002 | 158.19 | 9,394 |
| Cizela | 21003 | 143.92 | 8,903 |
| Ebongweni | 21004 | 19.86 | 1,223 |
| Ebotwe | 21005 | 771.80 | 49,869 |
| Elliotdale | 21006 | 8.21 | 1,012 |
| Emvelini | 21007 | 177.44 | 17,348 |
| Gcaleka-Ngchana | 21008 | 146.50 | 11,403 |
| Hala | 21009 | 22.36 | 1,442 |
| Idutywa Part 1 | 21010 | 275.97 | 28,957 |
| Idutywa Part 2 | 21019 | 9.19 | 4,828 |
| Jalamba | 21011 | 277.47 | 31,914 |
| Kwamkoloza | 21012 | 306.87 | 18,655 |
| Mpeko | 21013 | 2.14 | 0 |
| Ngqwangele | 21014 | 105.63 | 12,998 |
| Ngubezulu | 21015 | 238.10 | 27,130 |
| Ntonga | 21016 | 101.36 | 8,466 |
| Ntshatshongo | 21017 | 48.53 | 3,779 |
| Willowvale | 21018 | 5.54 | 2,546 |

## Politics

The municipal council consists of sixty-three members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Thirty-two councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in thirty-two wards, while the remaining thirty-one 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-five 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 | 36,734 | 66.49 | 30 | 39,028 | 71.59 | 15 | 45 |
| | United Democratic Movement | 6,361 | 11.51 | 1 | 7,368 | 13.52 | 7 | 8 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 3,041 | 5.50 | 0 | 3,386 | 6.21 | 4 | 4 |
| | Independent candidates | 5,439 | 9.85 | 1 | | | | 1 |
| | African Transformation Movement | 1,122 | 2.03 | 0 | 1,186 | 2.18 | 1 | 1 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 809 | 1.46 | 0 | 771 | 1.41 | 1 | 1 |
| | Batho Pele Movement | 554 | 1.00 | 0 | 596 | 1.09 | 1 | 1 |
| | Alliance for Transformation for All | 287 | 0.52 | 0 | 614 | 1.13 | 1 | 1 |
| | Pan Africanist Congress of Azania | 292 | 0.53 | 0 | 415 | 0.76 | 1 | 1 |
| | African Democrats | 192 | 0.35 | 0 | 410 | 0.75 | 0 | 0 |
| | African People's Convention | 195 | 0.35 | 0 | 191 | 0.35 | 0 | 0 |
| | Congress of the People | 63 | 0.11 | 0 | 322 | 0.59 | 0 | 0 |
| | Al Jama-ah | 155 | 0.28 | 0 | 88 | 0.16 | 0 | 0 |
| | Power of Africans Unity | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 142 | 0.26 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 55,244 | 100.00 | 32 | 54,517 | 100.00 | 31 | 63 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 55,244 | 97.64 | | 54,517 | 96.78 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 1,334 | 2.36 | | 1,813 | 3.22 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 56,578 | 100.00 | | 56,330 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 122,433 | 46.21 | | 122,433 | 46.01 | | |