# Sol Plaatje Local Municipality elections

The Sol Plaatje Local Municipality council consists of sixty-five members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Thirty-three councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in thirty-three wards, while the remaining thirty-two 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 thirty-three seats

## Results

The following table shows the composition of the council after past elections.
| Event | ACDP | ANC | COPE | DA | EFF | FF+ | Other | Total |
| 2000 election | — | 38 | — | 14 | — | — | 1 | 53 |
| 2006 election | 1 | 40 | — | 10 | — | 0 | 4 | 55 |
| 2011 election | 1 | 40 | 5 | 16 | — | — | 0 | 62 |
| 2016 election | 0 | 38 | 1 | 19 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 65 |
| 2021 election | 1 | 33 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 65 |

## 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 | 39,239 | 70.83 | 19 | 40,034 | 71.96 | 19 | 38 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 15,035 | 27.14 | 8 | 14,772 | 26.55 | 6 | 14 |
| | Independent candidates | 713 | 1.29 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | Inkatha Freedom Party | 227 | 0.41 | 0 | 445 | 0.80 | 1 | 1 |
| | United Democratic Movement | 187 | 0.34 | 0 | 381 | 0.68 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 55,401 | 100.00 | 27 | 55,632 | 100.00 | 26 | 53 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 55,401 | 97.21 | | 55,632 | 97.54 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 1,588 | 2.79 | | 1,403 | 2.46 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 56,989 | 100.00 | | 57,035 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 97,281 | 58.58 | | 97,281 | 58.63 | | |

## 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 | 40,439 | 72.49 | 23 | 40,321 | 73.60 | 17 | 40 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 9,697 | 17.38 | 4 | 9,526 | 17.39 | 6 | 10 |
| | Independent Democrats | 1,770 | 3.17 | 0 | 1,826 | 3.33 | 2 | 2 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 1,396 | 2.50 | 0 | 1,330 | 2.43 | 1 | 1 |
| | Azanian People's Organisation | 643 | 1.15 | 0 | 655 | 1.20 | 1 | 1 |
| | Independent candidates | 1,136 | 2.04 | 1 | | | | 1 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 397 | 0.71 | 0 | 525 | 0.96 | 0 | 0 |
| | Inkatha Freedom Party | 179 | 0.32 | 0 | 252 | 0.46 | 0 | 0 |
| | United Independent Front | 33 | 0.06 | 0 | 243 | 0.44 | 0 | 0 |
| | Federation of Democrats | 98 | 0.18 | 0 | 108 | 0.20 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 55,788 | 100.00 | 28 | 54,786 | 100.00 | 27 | 55 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 55,788 | 98.38 | | 54,786 | 96.54 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 916 | 1.62 | | 1,965 | 3.46 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 56,704 | 100.00 | | 56,751 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 111,413 | 50.90 | | 111,413 | 50.94 | | |

## 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 |
| | African National Congress | 46,379 | 62.98 | 22 | 47,505 | 63.97 | 18 | 40 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 19,497 | 26.47 | 9 | 19,447 | 26.19 | 7 | 16 |
| | Congress of the People | 5,821 | 7.90 | 0 | 5,556 | 7.48 | 5 | 5 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 980 | 1.33 | 0 | 848 | 1.14 | 1 | 1 |
| | Azanian People's Organisation | 380 | 0.52 | 0 | 586 | 0.79 | 0 | 0 |
| | Pan Africanist Congress of Azania | 349 | 0.47 | 0 | 321 | 0.43 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent candidates | 239 | 0.32 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| Total | Total | 73,645 | 100.00 | 31 | 74,263 | 100.00 | 31 | 62 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 73,645 | 98.29 | | 74,263 | 98.52 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 1,282 | 1.71 | | 1,114 | 1.48 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 74,927 | 100.00 | | 75,377 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 121,367 | 61.74 | | 121,367 | 62.11 | | |

## 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 |
| | African National Congress | 44,158 | 57.05 | 21 | 44,757 | 58.41 | 17 | 38 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 22,406 | 28.95 | 11 | 23,128 | 30.18 | 8 | 19 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 5,728 | 7.40 | 0 | 5,805 | 7.58 | 5 | 5 |
| | Congress of the People | 1,191 | 1.54 | 0 | 1,178 | 1.54 | 1 | 1 |
| | Independent candidates | 2,357 | 3.05 | 1 | | | | 1 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 859 | 1.11 | 0 | 896 | 1.17 | 1 | 1 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 512 | 0.66 | 0 | 525 | 0.69 | 0 | 0 |
| | Azanian People's Organisation | 192 | 0.25 | 0 | 336 | 0.44 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 77,403 | 100.00 | 33 | 76,625 | 100.00 | 32 | 65 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 77,403 | 98.82 | | 76,625 | 98.74 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 921 | 1.18 | | 980 | 1.26 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 78,324 | 100.00 | | 77,605 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 130,318 | 60.10 | | 130,318 | 59.55 | | |

## 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 |
| | African National Congress | 30,837 | 49.83 | 27 | 30,913 | 50.48 | 6 | 33 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 12,591 | 20.35 | 6 | 12,702 | 20.74 | 8 | 14 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 5,600 | 9.05 | 0 | 5,994 | 9.79 | 6 | 6 |
| | Sol- Plaatjie Service Delivery Forum | 2,645 | 4.27 | 0 | 2,923 | 4.77 | 3 | 3 |
| | Patriotic Alliance | 2,577 | 4.16 | 0 | 2,834 | 4.63 | 3 | 3 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 2,243 | 3.62 | 0 | 2,096 | 3.42 | 3 | 3 |
| | Good | 2,092 | 3.38 | 0 | 2,099 | 3.43 | 2 | 2 |
| | Independent candidates | 1,648 | 2.66 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 570 | 0.92 | 0 | 456 | 0.74 | 1 | 1 |
| | Congress of the People | 183 | 0.30 | 0 | 394 | 0.64 | 0 | 0 |
| | Azanian People's Organisation | 274 | 0.44 | 0 | 269 | 0.44 | 0 | 0 |
| | African Transformation Movement | 234 | 0.38 | 0 | 251 | 0.41 | 0 | 0 |
| | Africa's New Dawn | 135 | 0.22 | 0 | 147 | 0.24 | 0 | 0 |
| | Spectrum National Party | 129 | 0.21 | 0 | 91 | 0.15 | 0 | 0 |
| | Economic Emancipation Forum | 121 | 0.20 | 0 | 64 | 0.10 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 61,879 | 100.00 | 33 | 61,233 | 100.00 | 32 | 65 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 61,879 | 98.56 | | 61,233 | 98.24 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 907 | 1.44 | | 1,097 | 1.76 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 62,786 | 100.00 | | 62,330 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 128,236 | 48.96 | | 128,236 | 48.61 | | |

### By-elections from November 2021

The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period from November 2021. In ward 21, the DA candidate had their party membership terminated after switching to ActionSA, and in the by-election held on 31 August 2022, the DA candidate retained the seat for the party.
| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor |
| 31 August 2022 | 21 | Democratic Alliance | Democratic Alliance |
| 22 February 2023 | 1 | African National Congress | African National Congress |
| 11 October 2023 | 1 | African National Congress | Patriotic Alliance |
In ward 1, the ANC councillor died. In the resulting by-election in February 2023, Ferguson Moses retained the seat for the party, which had taken the seat from the Democratic Alliance (DA) in 2021. The Patriotic Alliance (PA) gained significant support to finish in third place.
Moses defected to the Patriotic Alliance, resulting in a by-election held in October 2023. He retained the seat, the first by-election win in the Northern Cape for the PA. The DA candidate defected to the PA after nominations had closed, the third candidate to move from the DA to the PA in 2023. The election also saw the by-election debut of Build One South Africa, whose candidate received 1% of the vote.
As a result of the October by-election, the ANC lost its majority in the municipality.