UMZIMKHULU LOCAL MUNICIPALITY ELECTIONS

The Umzimkhulu Local Municipality council consists of forty-three members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Twenty-two councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in twenty-two wards, while the remaining twenty-one 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 on the council.

Results

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

Event	AIC	ANC	DA	EFF	IFP	UDM	Other	Total
2000 election	-	27	1	-	2	3	0	33
2006 election	-	33	0	-	1	2	0	36
2011 election	-	36	0	-	1	0	3	40
2016 election	1	38	1	2	1	-	0	43
2021 election	1	33	1	6	1	-	1	43

The following table shows the results of the 2000 election.^[1]


Party		Ward			List			Total seats
Party		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Total seats
	African National Congress	20,980	79.81	17	21,333	81.03	10	27
	United Democratic Movement	2,678	10.19	0	2,505	9.51	3	3
	Inkatha Freedom Party	1,532	5.83	0	1,921	7.30	2	2
	Independent candidates	1,078	4.10	0				0
	Democratic Alliance	19	0.07	0	569	2.16	1	1
Total		26,287	100.00	17	26,328	100.00	16	33

Valid votes		26,287	97.40		26,328	97.70
Invalid/blank votes		703	2.60		620	2.30
Total votes		26,990	100.00		26,948	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		55,674	48.48		55,674	48.40

The following table shows the results of the 2006 election.^[2]


Party		Ward			List			Total seats
Party		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Total seats
	African National Congress	36,221	91.25	18	36,754	92.42	15	33
	Inkatha Freedom Party	1,529	3.85	0	1,503	3.78	2	2
	United Democratic Movement	1,264	3.18	0	1,321	3.32	1	1
	Independent candidates	643	1.62	0				0
	Democratic Alliance	39	0.10	0	192	0.48	0	0
Total		39,696	100.00	18	39,770	100.00	18	36

Valid votes		39,696	98.21		39,770	98.27
Invalid/blank votes		724	1.79		699	1.73
Total votes		40,420	100.00		40,469	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		69,922	57.81		69,922	57.88

The following table shows the results of the 2011 election.^[3]


Party		Ward			List			Total seats
Party		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Total seats
	African National Congress	41,263	87.86	19	43,121	91.56	17	36
	National Freedom Party	1,844	3.93	0	1,804	3.83	2	2
	Inkatha Freedom Party	898	1.91	0	735	1.56	1	1
	Independent candidates	1,553	3.31	1				1
	Democratic Alliance	673	1.43	0	567	1.20	0	0
	Congress of the People	312	0.66	0	499	1.06	0	0
	United Democratic Movement	165	0.35	0	257	0.55	0	0
	African Christian Democratic Party	255	0.54	0	113	0.24	0	0
Total		46,963	100.00	20	47,096	100.00	20	40

Valid votes		46,963	97.75		47,096	98.46
Invalid/blank votes		1,083	2.25		738	1.54
Total votes		48,046	100.00		47,834	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		77,292	62.16		77,292	61.89

The following table shows the results of the 2016 election.^[4]


Party		Ward			List			Total seats
Party		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Total seats
	African National Congress	45,289	85.79	22	46,219	86.64	16	38
	Economic Freedom Fighters	2,626	4.97	0	2,606	4.89	2	2
	Democratic Alliance	1,865	3.53	0	1,845	3.46	1	1
	African Independent Congress	323	0.61	0	1,513	2.84	1	1
	Inkatha Freedom Party	718	1.36	0	685	1.28	1	1
	Independent candidates	1,331	2.52	0				0
	African People's Convention	434	0.82	0	290	0.54	0	0
	Azanian People's Organisation	205	0.39	0	188	0.35	0	0
Total		52,791	100.00	22	53,346	100.00	21	43

Valid votes		52,791	97.43		53,346	97.19
Invalid/blank votes		1,395	2.57		1,545	2.81
Total votes		54,186	100.00		54,891	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		92,362	58.67		92,362	59.43

The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.^[5]


Party		Ward			List			Total seats
Party		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Total seats
	African National Congress	32,130	72.92	21	32,664	75.46	12	33
	Economic Freedom Fighters	5,253	11.92	0	5,975	13.80	6	6
	Independent candidates	4,126	9.36	1				1
	Inkatha Freedom Party	1,002	2.27	0	1,444	3.34	1	1
	Democratic Alliance	1,082	2.46	0	1,196	2.76	1	1
	African Independent Congress	48	0.11	0	1,364	3.15	1	1
	Abantu Batho Congress	151	0.34	0	242	0.56	0	0
	African People's Convention	190	0.43	0	159	0.37	0	0
	African Transformation Movement	82	0.19	0	243	0.56	0	0
Total		44,064	100.00	22	43,287	100.00	21	43

Valid votes		44,064	97.64		43,287	96.24
Invalid/blank votes		1,066	2.36		1,690	3.76
Total votes		45,130	100.00		44,977	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		90,315	49.97		90,315	49.80

The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period since the election in November 2021.^[6]

Date	Ward	Party of the previous councillor		Party of the newly elected councillor
24 May 2023^[7]	12		African National Congress		African National Congress
19 June 2024^[8]	1		African National Congress		African National Congress

^ "Election Result Table for LGE2000 — Umzimkhulu". wikitable.frith.dev. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
^ "Election Result Table for LGE2006 — Umzimkhulu". wikitable.frith.dev. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
^ "Election Result Table for LGE2011 — Umzimkhulu". wikitable.frith.dev. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
^ "Election Result Table for LGE2016 — Umzimkhulu". wikitable.frith.dev. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
^ "Election Result Table for LGE2021 — Umzimkhulu". wikitable.frith.dev. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
^ "Municipal By-elections results". Electoral Commission of South Africa. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
^ Sussman, Wayne (25 May 2023). "MAY BY-ELECTIONS: ANC, DA reassert dominance with big wins in KZN and Gauteng". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
^ Sussman, Wayne (20 June 2024). "IFP builds on strong KZN poll showing with more solid wins". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 20 June 2024.