# Knysna Local Municipality elections

The Knysna Local Municipality council consists of twenty-one members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Eleven councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in eleven wards, while the remaining ten 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 no party obtained a majority of seats on the council.

## Results

The following table shows the composition of the council after past elections.
| Event | ANC | DA | IND | Other | Total |
| 2000 election | 6 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
| 2004 floor-crossing | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 16 |
| 2006 election | 7 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 16 |
| 2007 floor-crossing | 9 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 16 |
| 2011 election | 7 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 19 |
| 2016 election | 7 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 21 |
| 2021 election | 7 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 21 |

## 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 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 6,361 | 42.44 | 4 | 6,580 | 43.62 | 3 | 7 |
| | African National Congress | 5,241 | 34.97 | 2 | 5,476 | 36.30 | 4 | 6 |
| | Knysna Community Forum | 1,958 | 13.06 | 1 | 2,737 | 18.14 | 1 | 2 |
| | Independent candidates | 1,213 | 8.09 | 1 | | | | 1 |
| | United Democratic Movement | 215 | 1.43 | 0 | 293 | 1.94 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 14,988 | 100.00 | 8 | 15,086 | 100.00 | 8 | 16 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 14,988 | 98.44 | | 15,086 | 98.31 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 237 | 1.56 | | 259 | 1.69 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 15,225 | 100.00 | | 15,345 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 23,465 | 64.88 | | 23,465 | 65.40 | | |

### By-elections from December 2000 to September 2004

The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the election in December 2000 and the floor crossing period in September 2004.
| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor |
| 24 July 2002 | 3 | | Democratic Alliance | | Democratic Alliance |

### September 2004 floor crossing

In terms of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, in the period from 1–15 September 2004 councillors had the opportunity to cross the floor to a different political party without losing their seats. In the Knysna council, one councillor crossed from the Democratic Alliance (DA) to the African National Congress, while another councillor left the DA to sit as an independent.
| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after |
| African National Congress | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| Democratic Alliance | 7 | 2 | 5 |
| Knysna Community Forum | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Independent | 1 | 1 | 2 |

### By-elections from September 2004 to February 2006

The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the floor crossing periods in September 2004 and the election in March 2006.
| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor |
| 22 September 2004 | 8 | | Knysna Community Forum | | African National Congress |

## 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 | 6,468 | 40.01 | 5 | 6,447 | 40.03 | 2 | 7 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 4,710 | 29.14 | 2 | 4,813 | 29.88 | 3 | 5 |
| | Knysna Community Forum | 1,778 | 11.00 | 1 | 1,943 | 12.06 | 1 | 2 |
| | Independent candidates | 1,959 | 12.12 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa | | | | 1,663 | 10.32 | 1 | 1 |
| | Independent Democrats | 627 | 3.88 | 0 | 651 | 4.04 | 1 | 1 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 426 | 2.64 | 0 | 421 | 2.61 | 0 | 0 |
| | United Independent Front | 197 | 1.22 | 0 | 169 | 1.05 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 16,165 | 100.00 | 8 | 16,107 | 100.00 | 8 | 16 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 16,165 | 98.61 | | 16,107 | 98.34 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 228 | 1.39 | | 272 | 1.66 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 16,393 | 100.00 | | 16,379 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 27,850 | 58.86 | | 27,850 | 58.81 | | |

### 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 Knysna council, the two councillors of the Knysna Community Forum crossed to the African National Congress, and the single councillor of the Independent Civic Organisation crossed to the National People's Party.
| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after |
| African National Congress | 7 | 2 | 9 |
| Democratic Alliance | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Independent Democrats | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| National People's Party | — | 1 | 1 |
| Knysna Community Forum | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa | 1 | 1 | 0 |

## 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 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 11,736 | 49.54 | 5 | 11,844 | 51.56 | 5 | 10 |
| | African National Congress | 8,764 | 36.99 | 4 | 9,111 | 39.66 | 3 | 7 |
| | Congress of the People | 1,601 | 6.76 | 0 | 1,596 | 6.95 | 1 | 1 |
| | Independent candidates | 1,132 | 4.78 | 1 | | | | 1 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 353 | 1.49 | 0 | 360 | 1.57 | 0 | 0 |
| | Cape Party | 104 | 0.44 | 0 | 61 | 0.27 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 23,690 | 100.00 | 10 | 22,972 | 100.00 | 9 | 19 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 23,690 | 98.93 | | 22,972 | 96.92 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 257 | 1.07 | | 730 | 3.08 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 23,947 | 100.00 | | 23,702 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 36,332 | 65.91 | | 36,332 | 65.24 | | |

### 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 |
| 2 July 2014 | 5 | Democratic Alliance | Democratic Alliance |
| 22 July 2015 | 9 | Democratic Alliance | Democratic Alliance |
| 22 July 2015 | 10 | Democratic Alliance | Democratic Alliance |

## 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 | 12,098 | 48.11 | 6 | 12,489 | 51.15 | 4 | 10 |
| | African National Congress | 7,777 | 30.93 | 3 | 8,153 | 33.39 | 4 | 7 |
| | Congress of the People | 1,430 | 5.69 | 1 | 1,402 | 5.74 | 0 | 1 |
| | Independent candidates | 1,462 | 5.81 | 1 | | | | 1 |
| | Knysna Unity Congress | 535 | 2.13 | 0 | 503 | 2.06 | 1 | 1 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 462 | 1.84 | 0 | 436 | 1.79 | 1 | 1 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 427 | 1.70 | 0 | 420 | 1.72 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa | 350 | 1.39 | 0 | 350 | 1.43 | 0 | 0 |
| | African Independent Congress | 164 | 0.65 | 0 | 336 | 1.38 | 0 | 0 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 209 | 0.83 | 0 | 175 | 0.72 | 0 | 0 |
| | Ubuntu Party | 111 | 0.44 | 0 | 52 | 0.21 | 0 | 0 |
| | South African Religious Civic Organisation | 36 | 0.14 | 0 | 36 | 0.15 | 0 | 0 |
| | Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners | 25 | 0.10 | 0 | 44 | 0.18 | 0 | 0 |
| | Democratic New Civic Association | 49 | 0.19 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | South Africa Civics | 12 | 0.05 | 0 | 22 | 0.09 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 25,147 | 100.00 | 11 | 24,418 | 100.00 | 10 | 21 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 25,147 | 98.87 | | 24,418 | 96.50 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 287 | 1.13 | | 886 | 3.50 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 25,434 | 100.00 | | 25,304 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 40,014 | 63.56 | | 40,014 | 63.24 | | |

### By-elections from August 2016 to November 2021

The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the elections in August 2016 and November 2021.
| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor |
| 24 October 2018 | 8 | African National Congress | African National Congress |
| 13 February 2019 | 4 | Independent | African National Congress |
| 21 August 2019 | 5 | Democratic Alliance | Democratic Alliance |
| 4 December 2019 | 11 | Democratic Alliance | Democratic Alliance |
| 11 November 2020 | 9 | Democratic Alliance | Democratic Alliance |
| 11 November 2020 | 10 | Democratic Alliance | Democratic Alliance |
| 21 April 2021 | 11 | Democratic Alliance | African National Congress |

## 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 | 8,176 | 34.73 | 5 | 8,421 | 36.15 | 3 | 8 |
| | African National Congress | 7,660 | 32.54 | 6 | 7,889 | 33.87 | 1 | 7 |
| | Knysna Independent Movement | 1,901 | 8.07 | 0 | 1,797 | 7.71 | 2 | 2 |
| | Patriotic Alliance | 1,725 | 7.33 | 0 | 1,729 | 7.42 | 2 | 2 |
| | Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners | 1,109 | 4.71 | 0 | 1,052 | 4.52 | 1 | 1 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 558 | 2.37 | 0 | 610 | 2.62 | 1 | 1 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 542 | 2.30 | 0 | 451 | 1.94 | 0 | 0 |
| | Good | 414 | 1.76 | 0 | 393 | 1.69 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent candidates | 573 | 2.43 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 208 | 0.88 | 0 | 188 | 0.81 | 0 | 0 |
| | Knysna Unity Congress | 160 | 0.68 | 0 | 185 | 0.79 | 0 | 0 |
| | Cape Independence Party | 155 | 0.66 | 0 | 154 | 0.66 | 0 | 0 |
| | Active United Front | 95 | 0.40 | 0 | 146 | 0.63 | 0 | 0 |
| | United Independent Movement | 70 | 0.30 | 0 | 54 | 0.23 | 0 | 0 |
| | Congress of the People | 62 | 0.26 | 0 | 57 | 0.24 | 0 | 0 |
| | The Organic Humanity Movement | 28 | 0.12 | 0 | 47 | 0.20 | 0 | 0 |
| | African Transformation Movement | 26 | 0.11 | 0 | 39 | 0.17 | 0 | 0 |
| | Africa Restoration Alliance | 25 | 0.11 | 0 | 28 | 0.12 | 0 | 0 |
| | Dagga Party | 16 | 0.07 | 0 | 28 | 0.12 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa | 11 | 0.05 | 0 | 27 | 0.12 | 0 | 0 |
| | Knysna Social Democratic Party | 28 | 0.12 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| Total | Total | 23,542 | 100.00 | 11 | 23,295 | 100.00 | 10 | 21 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 23,542 | 98.49 | | 23,295 | 98.07 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 361 | 1.51 | | 458 | 1.93 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 23,903 | 100.00 | | 23,753 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 42,790 | 55.86 | | 42,790 | 55.51 | | |