The Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality council consists of one hundred and twenty members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Sixty councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in sixty wards, while the remaining sixty are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received.

The council was dominated by the African National Congress (ANC) since its inception in 2000 until 2016. In the most recent election on 3 August 2016, the ANC lost its majority and the Democratic Alliance (DA) became the biggest party with 57 seats. This was however 4 seats short of a majority. On 17 August 2016, the DA announced a coalition government with the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), the Congress of the People (COPE), and the United Democratic Movement (UDM). The UDM later withdrew, and were replaced by the Patriotic Alliance (PA).

In August 2018, DA councillor Victor Manyati abstained from supporting his party's speaker, Jonathan Lawack. Lawack was removed from his position by 60 votes to 59. The DA and its supporters then left the council, and in their absence, the UDM's candidate Mongameli Bobani was elected mayor, with 61 votes in favour and zero against. Bobani appointed a mayoral committee consisting almost entirely of ANC members. Bobani was ousted as mayor on 4 December 2019 and Thsonono Buyeye of the AIC was his interim successor. Buyeye served in the position until the election of the DA's Nqaba Bhanga in December 2020.

Results The following table shows the composition of the council after past elections.

Event ACDP ANC COPE DA EFF FF+ PAC UDM Other Total 2000 election 1 72 - 32 - 0 1 2 1 108 2006 election 1 81 - 30 - 1 1 1 6 120 2011 election 1 63 6 48 - 0 1 1 0 120 2016 election 1 50 1 57 6 0 0 2 3 120 2021 election 2 48 0 48 8 2 1 1 12 120

December 2000 election

The following table shows the results of the 2000 election.

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 Nelson Mandela Bay council, six councillors crossed from the Democratic Alliance (DA) to the New National Party (NNP), which had formerly been part of the DA. One councillor crossed from the United Democratic Movement to the DA.

Party Seats before Net change Seats after 72 0 72 31 5 26 – 6 6 2 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1

By-elections from October 2002 to August 2004 The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the floor crossing periods in October 2002 and September 2004.

Date Ward Party of the previous councillor Party of the newly elected councillor 20 August 2003 43 26 November 2003 52

September 2004 floor crossing Another floor-crossing period occurred on 1–15 September 2004. The six councillors of the NNP crossed to the African National Congress (ANC), as did four councillors from the DA. The single councillor of the African Transformation Efficiency and Affirmative Movement crossed to the Liberal Party.

Party Seats before Net change Seats after 73 10 83 25 4 21 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 — 1 1 6 6 0 1 1 0

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 newly elected councillor 26 January 2005 44 12 October 2005 41

March 2006 election

The following table shows the results of the 2006 election.

May 2011 election

The following table shows the results of the 2011 election.

August 2016 election

The following table shows the results of the 2016 election.

November 2021 election

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 newly elected councillor 4 May 2022 29300020 6 Jul 2022 29300043 14 Aug 2024 2 14 Aug 2024 9 2 Jul 2025 57 16 Jul 2025 34 6 Aug 2025 23

References