The Newcastle Local Municipality council consists of sixty-seven members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Thirty-four councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in thirty-four wards, while the remaining thirty-three 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) lost its majority, winning a plurality of 22 seats. As of July 2024, the party has since lost five seats in by-elections, dropping to 17 seats, with the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) earning a plurality of 23 seats.
Results The following table shows the composition of the council after past elections. Event ACDP ANC DA EFF FF+ IFP NFP Other Total 2000 election 1 20 11 - - 27 - 2 61 2006 election 1 27 6 - 1 20 - 6 61 2011 election 0 33 5 - 0 12 5 6 61 2016 election 0 41 6 5 1 11 - 3 67 2021 election - 22 5 8 1 18 1 12 67
December 2000 election
The following table shows the results of the 2000 election.
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.
August 2016 to November 2021 by-elections In a by-election held on 5 April 2017, a ward previously held by the ANC was won by an independent candidate. Council composition was reconfigured as seen below:
Party Ward PR list Total 31 9 40 0 11 11 2 4 6 0 5 5 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 – 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 Total 34 33 67
November 2021 election
The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.
The IFP took control of the municipality by entering into agreement with the DA, Team Sugar and other parties.
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 15 February 2023 31 14 February 2024 11 13 March 2024 12 13 March 2024 19 13 March 2024 23 19 June 2024 5 17 July 2024 28
After the three March by-elections, and the February by-election, the IFP had won four seats from the ANC, leaving them as the largest party, while in June 2024 the DA won a seat off the ANC. The following shows the composition of the council after the July 2024 by-election:
Party Ward List TotalInkatha Freedom Party 11 12 23African National Congress 16 1 17Economic Freedom Fighters 0 8 8Team Sugar South Africa 1 5 6Democratic Alliance 5 1 6ActionSA 1 2 3Freedom Front Plus 0 1 1National Freedom Party 0 1 1Patriotic Alliance 0 1 1African Transformation Movement 0 1 1Total 34 33 67
References