# Matzikama Local Municipality elections

The council of the Matzikama Local Municipality in the Western Cape, South Africa is elected every five years by a system of mixed-member proportional representation. Eight councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in eight wards, while the remaining 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 Democratic Alliance (DA) won a plurality of six seats on the council.

## Results

The following table shows the composition of the council after past elections.
| Event | ANC | DA | EFF | ID | Other | Total |
| 2000 election | 7 | 6 | — | — | 0 | 13 |
| 2006 election | 6 | 3 | — | 4 | 0 | 13 |
| 2011 election | 6 | 7 | — | — | 2 | 15 |
| 2016 election | 5 | 8 | 1 | — | 1 | 15 |
| 2021 election | 4 | 6 | 1 | — | 4 | 15 |

## 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 |
| | African National Congress | 5,596 | 48.51 | 4 | 5,746 | 50.55 | 3 | 7 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 5,220 | 45.25 | 3 | 5,620 | 49.45 | 3 | 6 |
| | Independent candidates | 719 | 6.23 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| Total | Total | 11,535 | 100.00 | 7 | 11,366 | 100.00 | 6 | 13 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 11,535 | 97.68 | | 11,366 | 96.22 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 274 | 2.32 | | 446 | 3.78 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 11,809 | 100.00 | | 11,812 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 17,941 | 65.82 | | 17,941 | 65.84 | | |

### 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 Matzikama council, four 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 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| New National Party | – | 4 | 4 |
| Democratic Alliance | 6 | 4 | 2 |

### September 2004 floor crossing

Another floor-crossing period occurred on 1–15 September 2004, in which one of the NNP councillors crossed to the ANC.
| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after |
| African National Congress | 7 | 1 | 8 |
| New National Party | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Democratic Alliance | 2 | 0 | 2 |

## 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 | 5,751 | 43.80 | 5 | 5,782 | 44.14 | 1 | 6 |
| | Independent Democrats | 3,582 | 27.28 | 2 | 3,633 | 27.73 | 2 | 4 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 2,913 | 22.19 | 0 | 3,269 | 24.96 | 3 | 3 |
| | Independent candidates | 576 | 4.39 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 166 | 1.26 | 0 | 180 | 1.37 | 0 | 0 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 118 | 0.90 | 0 | 159 | 1.21 | 0 | 0 |
| | United Party of South Africa | 23 | 0.18 | 0 | 76 | 0.58 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 13,129 | 100.00 | 7 | 13,099 | 100.00 | 6 | 13 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 13,129 | 98.77 | | 13,099 | 98.46 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 164 | 1.23 | | 205 | 1.54 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 13,293 | 100.00 | | 13,304 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 22,074 | 60.22 | | 22,074 | 60.27 | | |

### 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 Matzikama council one councillor crossed from the Democratic Alliance to the South African Political Alliance.
| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after |
| African National Congress | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Independent Democrats | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Democratic Alliance | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| South African Political Alliance | — | 1 | 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 previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor |
| 10 December 2008 | 2 | | African National Congress | | Independent Democrats |

## May 2011 election

At the election of 18 May 2011, the council was expanded to 15 members with the addition of one new ward and one new PR list seats. The Democratic Alliance won 7 seats, one short of a majority.
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 | 7,648 | 47.18 | 5 | 7,754 | 47.84 | 2 | 7 |
| | African National Congress | 6,455 | 39.82 | 3 | 6,560 | 40.47 | 3 | 6 |
| | New Generation Party | 965 | 5.95 | 0 | 912 | 5.63 | 1 | 1 |
| | The Peoples Independent Civic Organisation | 412 | 2.54 | 0 | 461 | 2.84 | 1 | 1 |
| | Congress of the People | 334 | 2.06 | 0 | 245 | 1.51 | 0 | 0 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 219 | 1.35 | 0 | 205 | 1.26 | 0 | 0 |
| | South African Political Alliance | 93 | 0.57 | 0 | 45 | 0.28 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent candidates | 57 | 0.35 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | Western Cape Community | 27 | 0.17 | 0 | 26 | 0.16 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 16,210 | 100.00 | 8 | 16,208 | 100.00 | 7 | 15 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 16,210 | 98.88 | | 16,208 | 98.93 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 184 | 1.12 | | 176 | 1.07 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 16,394 | 100.00 | | 16,384 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 26,630 | 61.56 | | 26,630 | 61.52 | | |

### 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 newly elected councillor |
| 7 November 2012 | 2 | Democratic Alliance | African National Congress |
| 29 January 2014 | 4 | Democratic Alliance | African National Congress |
| 28 May 2024 | 6 | Democratic Alliance | Democratic Alliance |
| 22 July 2015 | 2 | 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 | 9,833 | 54.69 | 7 | 9,782 | 54.64 | 1 | 8 |
| | African National Congress | 6,114 | 34.01 | 1 | 6,212 | 34.70 | 4 | 5 |
| | United Democrats | 587 | 3.26 | 0 | 559 | 3.12 | 1 | 1 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 505 | 2.81 | 0 | 514 | 2.87 | 1 | 1 |
| | Patriotic Alliance | 390 | 2.17 | 0 | 388 | 2.17 | 0 | 0 |
| | New Generation Party | 297 | 1.65 | 0 | 197 | 1.10 | 0 | 0 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 184 | 1.02 | 0 | 184 | 1.03 | 0 | 0 |
| | The Peoples Independent Civic Organisation | 69 | 0.38 | 0 | 67 | 0.37 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 17,979 | 100.00 | 8 | 17,903 | 100.00 | 7 | 15 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 17,979 | 99.35 | | 17,903 | 99.32 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 117 | 0.65 | | 122 | 0.68 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 18,096 | 100.00 | | 18,025 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 30,193 | 59.93 | | 30,193 | 59.70 | | |

### By-elections from August 2016 to 2021

The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the elections since August 2016.
| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor |
| 12 December 2018 | 6 | Democratic Alliance | African National Congress |
| 13 November 2019 | 4 | Democratic Alliance | African National Congress |
| 26 February 2020 | 8 | Democratic Alliance | African National Congress |
In July 2018, the ANC's Hennie Nel was elected mayor after the resignation of the DA's Rhenda Stephan. In August 2018, the DA's Johan van der Hoven was elected as mayor.
After the second by-election, the ANC became the largest party as the council was reconfigured as seen below:
| Party | Party | Seats | Seats | Seats |
| Party | Party | Ward | List | Total |
| | African National Congress | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| | United Democrats | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | Total | 8 | 7 | 15 |
The local council sends two representatives to the council of the West Coast District Municipality: one from the ANC and one from the DA.

## 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 | 6,199 | 36.73 | 3 | 6,254 | 37.89 | 3 | 6 |
| | African National Congress | 4,877 | 28.90 | 4 | 4,854 | 29.41 | 0 | 4 |
| | Patriotic Alliance | 2,307 | 13.67 | 1 | 1,871 | 11.34 | 1 | 2 |
| | Good | 1,324 | 7.84 | 0 | 1,328 | 8.05 | 1 | 1 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 1,303 | 7.72 | 0 | 1,189 | 7.20 | 1 | 1 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 645 | 3.82 | 0 | 627 | 3.80 | 1 | 1 |
| | Khoi-San Heavenly Party | | | | 269 | 1.63 | 0 | 0 |
| | Africa Restoration Alliance | 83 | 0.49 | 0 | 60 | 0.36 | 0 | 0 |
| | United Democratic Movement | 62 | 0.37 | 0 | 53 | 0.32 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent candidates | 48 | 0.28 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | Khoi-San Kingdom of RSA | 30 | 0.18 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| Total | Total | 16,878 | 100.00 | 8 | 16,505 | 100.00 | 7 | 15 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 16,878 | 98.70 | | 16,505 | 98.71 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 223 | 1.30 | | 216 | 1.29 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 17,101 | 100.00 | | 16,721 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 31,765 | 53.84 | | 31,765 | 52.64 | | |

### By-elections from November 2021

The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period since 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 |
| 6 Jul 2022 | 7 | | Patriotic Alliance | | Democratic Alliance |
| 20 Nov 2024 | 6 | | African National Congress | | Patriotic Alliance |
After the November 2024 by-election, the council was reconfigured as below:
| Party | Party | Seats | Seats | Seats |
| Party | Party | Ward | List | Total |
| | Democratic Alliance | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| | African National Congress | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| | Patriotic Alliance | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| | Good | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | Total | 8 | 7 | 15 |