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.
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 newly elected councillor 24 July 2002 3
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 6 1 7 7 2 5 2 0 2 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 newly elected councillor 22 September 2004 8
March 2006 election
The following table shows the results of the 2006 election.
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 7 2 9 5 0 5 1 0 1 — 1 1 2 2 0 1 1 0
May 2011 election
The following table shows the results of the 2011 election.
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 22 July 2015 9 10
August 2016 election
The following table shows the results of the 2016 election.
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 13 February 2019 4 21 August 2019 5 4 December 2019 11 11 November 2020By-election was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 9 10 21 April 2021 11
November 2021 election
The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.
By-elections from November 2021 The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period since the election in November 2021.
Date Ward Party of the previous councillor Party of the newly elected councillor 25 Jun 2025 8 20 Aug 2025 3
Notes
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