# Kopanong Local Municipality

Kopanong Municipality (Sotho: Masepala wa Kopanong; Afrikaans: Kopanong Munisipaliteit; Xhosa: uMasipala wase Kopanong) is a local municipality within the Xhariep District Municipality, in the Free State province of South Africa. Kopanong is a Sesotho word meaning "meeting place or where people are invited". The name earmarks unity and seeks to encourage co-operation.

## Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:
| Place | Code | Area (km$^2$) | Population | Most spoken language |
| Bethulie | 40201 | 51.80 | 1,342 | Afrikaans |
| Charlesville | 40202 | 0.33 | 525 | Sotho |
| Edenburg | 40203 | 28.33 | 935 | Afrikaans |
| Fauresmith | 40204 | 54.64 | 1,276 | Afrikaans |
| Ha-Rasebei | 40205 | 11.27 | 7,203 | Sotho |
| Hydro Park | 40206 | 0.36 | 586 | Afrikaans |
| Ipopeng | 40207 | 0.75 | 2,770 | Afrikaans |
| Itumeleng | 40208 | 1.17 | 3,924 | Sotho |
| Jagersfontein | 40209 | 1.03 | 1,200 | Afrikaans |
| Lephoi | 40211 | 1.19 | 5,067 | Xhosa |
| Madikgetla | 40212 | 0.69 | 3,938 | Sotho |
| Maphodi | 40213 | 0.83 | 3,592 | Xhosa |
| Oranjekrag | 40214 | 3.82 | 350 | Afrikaans |
| Philippolis | 40215 | 67.55 | 1,170 | Afrikaans |
| Poding-Tse-Rolo | 40216 | 0.35 | 2,411 | Xhosa |
| Qhoweng | 40217 | 0.74 | 3,469 | Sotho |
| Reddersburg | 40218 | 18.01 | 967 | Afrikaans |
| Springfontein | 40219 | 40.78 | 1,753 | Afrikaans |
| Trompsburg | 40220 | 1.27 | 925 | Afrikaans |
| Waterkloof | 40221 | 20.84 | 6 | Afrikaans |
| Remainder of the municipality | 40210 | 14,937.34 | 12,524 | Afrikaans |

## Politics

The municipal council consists of seventeen members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Nine councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in nine wards, while the remaining eight are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received. In the 2021 South African municipal elections the African National Congress (ANC) won a majority of eleven seats on the council.
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 |
| | African National Congress | 7,835 | 65.15 | 9 | 8,055 | 66.93 | 2 | 11 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 1,996 | 16.60 | 0 | 1,967 | 16.34 | 3 | 3 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 1,120 | 9.31 | 0 | 1,299 | 10.79 | 2 | 2 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 624 | 5.19 | 0 | 626 | 5.20 | 1 | 1 |
| | Independent candidates | 403 | 3.35 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | African Transformation Movement | 48 | 0.40 | 0 | 88 | 0.73 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 12,026 | 100.00 | 9 | 12,035 | 100.00 | 8 | 17 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 12,026 | 97.91 | | 12,035 | 97.45 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 257 | 2.09 | | 315 | 2.55 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 12,283 | 100.00 | | 12,350 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 24,967 | 49.20 | | 24,967 | 49.47 | | |

## Financial mismanagement

In January 2025, the municipality was listed as one of the top ten municipalities in arrears on their pension contributions.