The 2021 South African Municipal Elections were held on 1 November 2021, to elect councils for all district, metropolitan and local municipalities in each of the country's nine provinces. It was the 6th municipal election cycle held in South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994, with the previous municipal elections having been held in 2016. On 21 April 2021, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the elections to be held on Wednesday, 27 October 2021.
It had been recommend by Dikgang Moseneke to delay the municipal elections until 2022. The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) requested the Constitutional Court to support the date postponement. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) supported the date postponement while the Democratic Alliance (DA) was against the postponement of the date. The Constitutional Court dismissed the application to postpone the date until 2022, ruling that they had to take place between 27 October and 1 November.
On 9 September 2021, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma announced that the elections would be held on 1 November.
The turnout of 45.79% of registered voters was the lowest in the history of South African democracy, down from 57.94% during the previous local election. The IEC put considerable effort into increasing voter registration and turnout for the 2026 South African municipal elections.
Electoral system Local government in South Africa consists of municipalities of various types. The largest metropolitan areas are governed by metropolitan municipalities, while the rest of the country is divided into district municipalities, each of which consists of several local municipalities. After the 2016 elections, there were eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district municipalities and 205 local municipalities.Local government. Retrieved on 1 June 2019
The councils of metropolitan and local municipalities are elected through a system of mixed-member proportional representation, in which half of the seats in each municipality are elected on the first-past-the-post system in single-member wards and the other half of the seats are allocated according to the proportional representation (PR) system. The latter takes into account the number of ward seats won by a party and ensures that the final number of seats held by that party is proportional to their percentage of the total vote.Frequently Asked Questions: Elections. Retrieved on 1 June 2019.
District municipality councils are partly elected by proportional representation (DC 40% votes) and partly appointed by the councils of the constituent local municipalities (DC 60% votes). Voters in both metropolitan and local municipalities elect a single ward candidate as well as a proportional representative in their municipal council. Residents of municipalities that form part of district councils (that is, excluding metropolitan municipalities) also cast a third vote to elect a proportional representative for their district council in addition to the two votes they cast for their local council.National, provincial and municipal elections explained , Alberton Record, 7 May 2019. Retrieved on 1 June 2019.Local Government Elections . Retrieved on 1 June 2019.
Timeline
31 October 2021 8:00 – Special voting begins for the over 1.1 million individuals registered.
In Ward 93, Kusakusa Primary School, in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, the IEC allegedly caught individuals committing electoral fraud. An investigation is currently underway regarding the matter.
1 November 2021 8:00 – Elections begin nationwide.
12:00 – A voting station in KwaZulu-Natal is set on fire.
13:00 – A Journalist is arrested and later released following a squabble at a voting station in Soweto.
14:00 – Protests break out in Soweto as President Cyril Ramaphosa makes his way to Chiawelo to cast his ballot.
15:00 – The IEC warns and advises individuals on taking pictures inside voting booths, citing time constraints.
15:30 – Residents dig trenches to bar IEC officials from entering a voting station in the Eastern Cape.
19:00 – Helen Zille is forcibly removed from a voting station in Bethelsdorp.
21:00 – Voting polls close.
Political parties There are 325 parties contesting the election.
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) has been the majority party in most municipalities across South Africa, with the exception of those in the Western Cape, since 1994. Its overall share of the vote decreased from 61.95% in 2011 to 53.91% in 2016 amid growing discontent regarding the state of the country's economy and perceived corruption within the organisation. The party lost many municipalities and support in the previous municipal elections, including the mayoralty and majority in councils such as Nelson Mandela Bay, Tshwane and Johannesurg. The party had to form coalitions to retain control of the City of Ekurhuleni and many other municipalities. The ANC has managed to gain back control in many municipalities through motions of no confidence. Although the party ousted the Democratic Alliance administration in Nelson Mandela Bay, the party voted to elect a mayor from the United Democratic Movement (UDM). The ANC was led by Jacob Zuma until he was replaced by Cyril Ramaphosa at the 57th National Conference in December 2017. Ramaphosa assumed the presidency in February 2018 and the ANC won the 2019 national elections with a slight decrease in the number of votes.South Africa's ruling party ANC wins reelection. Retrieved on 1 June 2019. The ANC regained control of the City of Johannesburg on 4 December 2019 following the election of its regional leader, Geoff Makhubo, to the mayoralty. The party voted to remove the UDM mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay on 5 December 2019. The party announced its election manifesto on 27 September 2021. Ramaphosa said that mayors would not be appointed based on popularity.
The official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) increased its total share of the vote from 23.94% in 2011 to 26.90% in 2016. The party gained significant support and control of municipalities all across South Africa whilst assuming control of most Western Cape councils. In addition, the party gained three metropolitan municipalities from the ANC – Tshwane, Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay.Herman Mashaba elected Johannesburg mayor, marking the end of ANC rule in the city, Mail & Guardian, 22 August 2016. Retrieved on 1 June 2019.DA wins Midvaal municipality in Gauteng. Retrieved on 1 June 2019.ANC loses Nelson Mandela Bay. Retrieved on 1 June 2019. The party did increase its majority in City of Cape Town.DA wins Cape Town, The Daily Voice, 5 August 2016. Retrieved on 1 June 2019. The DA lost control of the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality in August 2018, after a motion of no confidence ousted the DA mayor Athol Trollip.UDM's Mongameli Bobani elected new mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay. Retrieved on 1 June 2019. The party's support decreased in the 2019 national elections. Following the national elections, the DA has shown a growing decrease in support in subsequent municipal by-elections. Mmusi Maimane resigned as DA leader in October 2019, and John Steenhuisen was elected as interim party leader in November 2019. The DA lost control of the City of Johannesburg in December 2019. Steenhuisen was elected leader of the party for a full term in November 2020. The DA launched their manifesto on 25 September 2021.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is a splinter party of the ANC that was formed in July 2013 by expelled ANC Youth League leader, Julius Malema. The party was considered the kingmaker for the control of many councils in the aftermath of the 2016 municipal elections. The party increased their support in the 2019 national elections and is the second-largest party in three out of the nine provinces. The party launched its manifesto on 26 September 2021.
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) saw an increase in their share of the vote in 2016 to just over 4 percent, which gave them control of 11 local municipalities and 2 district municipalities, they also co-govern Johannesburg as part of a coalition. The party was looking to build on their resurgence within their traditional stronghold of KwaZulu-Natal as well as make inroads in other provinces since, for the first time in their history, the party was led by a new president.Nkandla is ours: IFP . Retrieved on 27 August 2019.
The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) won 0.8% of the vote (229,281 votes) in the 2016 municipal elections and formed a coalition to govern with the DA in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Hessequa. The party significantly increased their support in the 2019 general elections, winning 2.38% of the vote and just over 400,000 votes. In subsequent municipal by-elections, the party has won wards off the DA in the North West and increased their support in Gauteng and Limpopo. The party fielded candidates in 3,158 of the 4,468 wards in 184 of the 257 councils and sought to make inroads in the Western Cape by promising minority rights protection.
The National Freedom Party won 10.4% of the votes cast in KwaZulu-Natal province in 2011, including a majority of seats in the eDumbe Local Municipality and a plurality in Nongoma Local Municipality. The party was disqualified from participating in 2016 after failing to pay the election fee, but is hoping for a good result in KwaZulu-Natal. However, it experienced a setback with the death of its leader, Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi, in September.
ActionSA was a new party, established by the former mayor of Johannesburg Herman Mashaba, which gained significant attention especially within the provinces of Gauteng and Kwazulu-Natal. The party gained influential former DA and ANC members.
Good was established by Patricia de Lille in 2018, and ran candidates in 1000 wards and 45 municipalities. It was particularly focused on the Western Cape, where it won 3% of the vote in the provincial legislature in the 2019 South African general election.
Pre-election coalition governments The 2016 municipal elections resulted in many hung councils across South Africa. The ANC lost its council majority in four metropolitan municipalities – Tshwane, Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela Bay, City of Ekurhuleni. This consequently created an opportunity for opposition parties to form coalitions to achieve the mayoralties of these key municipalities. The EFF was essentially seen as the kingmaker and voted with the DA to install DA mayors in three out of the four metros and also in smaller local municipalities.DA's Solly Msimanga is mayor of Tshwane. Retrieved on 3 July 2019.DA's Herman Mashaba elected new Joburg mayor, TimesLIVE, 22 August 2016. Retrieved on 3 July 2019.Herman Mashaba elected mayor of Joburg. Retrieved on 3 July 2019. The ANC managed to hold on to the City of Ekurhuleni through a coalition with smaller parties, and later won back the City of Johannesburg.ANC celebrates as Mzwandile Masina is elected mayor of Ekurhuleni. Retrieved on 3 July 2019.ANC's Mzwandile Masina elected Ekurhuleni mayor. Retrieved on 3 July 2019.
Eventually, through motions of no-confidence, the ANC managed to regain control of a select few municipalities. Even though an ANC-sponsored motion of no confidence removed the DA administration in Nelson Mandela Bay, the ANC voted for a United Democratic Movement (UDM) mayor.Athol Trollip ousted as Nelson Mandela mayor, BusinessLIVE, 27 August 2018. Retrieved on 3 July 2019.Athol Trollip removed as NMB mayor replaced by UDM's Mongameli Bobani. Retrieved on 3 July 2019.