The Saldanha Bay Local Municipality consists of twenty-seven members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Fourteen councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in fourteen wards, while the remaining thirteen 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 Democratic Alliance (DA) obtained a plurality of thirteen 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 9 9 1 1 20 2002 floor-crossing 9 7 1 3 20 2004 floor-crossing 9 7 0 4 20 2006 election 9 6 2 6 23 2007 floor-crossing 10 6 1 6 23 2011 election 8 15 1 1 25 2016 election 8 17 0 2 27 2021 election 6 13 0 8 27
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 Saldanha Bay council the Democratic Alliance (DA) lost two councillors to the New National Party (NNP), which had formerly been part of the DA.
Party Seats before Net change Seats after 9 0 9 9 2 7 – 2 2 1 0 1 1 0 1
September 2004 floor crossing Another floor-crossing period occurred on 1–15 September 2004. The independent councillor joined the United Democratic Movement.
Party Seats before Net change Seats after 9 0 9 7 0 7 2 0 2 1 0 1 – 1 1 1 1 0
March 2006 election
The following table shows the results of the 2006 election.
By-elections from March 2006 to August 2007 The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the election in March 2006 and the floor crossing period in September 2007.
Date Ward Party of the previous councillor Party of the newly elected councillor 23 May 2007 7 The former councillor was re-elected to the ward as an independent.
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 Saldanha Bay council, two of the independent councillors joined the African National Congress, and the single councillor from the United Independent Front crossed to the National People's Party.
Party Seats before Net change Seats after 8 2 10 6 0 6 3 0 3 3 2 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 — 1 1 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 28 March 2012 12 19 February 2014 9
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 30 May 2018 3 12 December 2018 5 18 September 2019 14 11 November 2020By-election was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 13
November 2021 election
The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.
Following the election, the Democratic Alliance (DA) formed a coalition with the Freedom Front Plus (FF+).
By-elections from November 2021 The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period from the election in November 2021.
Date Ward Party of the previous councillor Party of the newly elected councillor 6 Dec 2023 9 19 Mar 2025 1 22 Apr 2026 5 22 Apr 2026 6
The African National Congress (ANC) councillor for ward 9 was assassinated, leading to a by-election in December 2023. Only two parties stood, the ANC and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). The EFF claimed victory after the ANC's share of the vote dropped 72% to 43%, while the EFF's increased from 15% to 57%.
Following the ANC councillor's death in ward one, uMkhonto weSizwe won the resulting by-election in March 2025, the party's first councillor in the Western Cape, and fourth nationally.
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