Newcastle Local Municipality elections

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.[1]

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

Main article: 2000 South African municipal elections

The following table shows the results of the 2000 election.[2]

Party		Ward			List			Total seats
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
	Inkatha Freedom Party	20,367	43.95	22	20,083	43.27	5	27
	African National Congress	15,387	33.20	5	15,323	33.01	15	20
	Democratic Alliance	7,753	16.73	4	8,490	18.29	7	11
	Azanian People's Organisation	711	1.53	0	823	1.77	1	1
	Independent candidates	1,437	3.10	0				0
	African Christian Democratic Party	243	0.52	0	655	1.41	1	1
	Pan Africanist Congress of Azania	260	0.56	0	495	1.07	1	1
	Minority Front	183	0.39	0	547	1.18	0	0
Total		46,341	100.00	31	46,416	100.00	30	61
Valid votes		46,341	97.47		46,416	97.51
Invalid/blank votes		1,202	2.53		1,186	2.49
Total votes		47,543	100.00		47,602	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		115,803	41.06		115,803	41.11

March 2006 election

Main article: 2006 South African municipal elections

The following table shows the results of the 2006 election.[3]

Party		Ward			List			Total seats
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
	African National Congress	24,822	43.71	21	25,511	44.90	6	27
	Inkatha Freedom Party	17,909	31.53	6	18,107	31.87	14	20
	Democratic Alliance	5,095	8.97	3	5,377	9.46	3	6
	National Democratic Convention	3,771	6.64	1	3,170	5.58	3	4
	Royal Loyal Progress	1,218	2.14	0	1,289	2.27	1	1
	African Christian Democratic Party	753	1.33	0	997	1.75	1	1
	Independent candidates	1,163	2.05	0				0
	Independent Democrats	576	1.01	0	577	1.02	1	1
	Freedom Front Plus	459	0.81	0	508	0.89	1	1
	Pan Africanist Congress of Azania	452	0.80	0	506	0.89	0	0
	Azanian People's Organisation	374	0.66	0	517	0.91	0	0
	Minority Front	202	0.36	0	253	0.45	0	0
Total		56,794	100.00	31	56,812	100.00	30	61
Valid votes		56,794	97.61		56,812	97.51
Invalid/blank votes		1,391	2.39		1,448	2.49
Total votes		58,185	100.00		58,260	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		126,693	45.93		126,693	45.99

May 2011 election

Main article: 2011 South African municipal elections

The following table shows the results of the 2011 election.[4]

Party		Ward			List			Total seats
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
	African National Congress	45,786	52.22	28	47,625	54.31	5	33
	Inkatha Freedom Party	16,415	18.72	1	16,397	18.70	11	12
	National Freedom Party	7,802	8.90	0	7,313	8.34	5	5
	Democratic Alliance	6,466	7.38	2	6,992	7.97	3	5
	Azanian People's Organisation	3,908	4.46	0	3,624	4.13	3	3
	Royal Loyal Progress	2,046	2.33	0	1,878	2.14	2	2
	Federal Congress	1,716	1.96	0	1,575	1.80	1	1
	Independent candidates	1,105	1.26	0				0
	Freedom Front Plus	603	0.69	0	408	0.47	0	0
	Minority Front	334	0.38	0	560	0.64	0	0
	Great Kongress of South Africa	448	0.51	0	350	0.40	0	0
	Congress of the People	312	0.36	0	329	0.38	0	0
	African Christian Democratic Party	322	0.37	0	310	0.35	0	0
	United Democratic Movement	340	0.39	0	261	0.30	0	0
	South African Determined Volunteers	68	0.08	0	66	0.08	0	0
Total		87,671	100.00	31	87,688	100.00	30	61
Valid votes		87,671	98.10		87,688	98.15
Invalid/blank votes		1,700	1.90		1,655	1.85
Total votes		89,371	100.00		89,343	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		149,136	59.93		149,136	59.91

August 2016 election

Main article: 2016 South African municipal elections

The following table shows the results of the 2016 election.[5]

Party		Ward			List			Total seats
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
	African National Congress	63,352	59.87	32	66,149	62.52	9	41
	Inkatha Freedom Party	18,210	17.21	0	17,298	16.35	11	11
	Democratic Alliance	9,587	9.06	2	9,993	9.45	4	6
	Economic Freedom Fighters	8,074	7.63	0	8,128	7.68	5	5
	Royal Loyal Progress	1,522	1.44	0	1,437	1.36	1	1
	Independent candidates	2,379	2.25	0				0
	Azanian People's Organisation	813	0.77	0	801	0.76	1	1
	People's Revolutionary Movement	721	0.68	0	850	0.80	1	1
	Freedom Front Plus	774	0.73	0	764	0.72	1	1
	African Christian Democratic Party	376	0.36	0	381	0.36	0	0
Total		105,808	100.00	34	105,801	100.00	33	67
Valid votes		105,808	98.28		105,801	98.31
Invalid/blank votes		1,849	1.72		1,821	1.69
Total votes		107,657	100.00		107,622	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		183,353	58.72		183,353	58.70

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.[6] Council composition was reconfigured as seen below:

Party		Ward	PR list	Total
	African National Congress	31	9	40
	Inkatha Freedom Party	0	11	11
	DA	2	4	6
	Economic Freedom Fighters	0	5	5
	AZAPO	0	1	1
	VF+	0	1	1
	Independent	1	–	1
	People's Revolutionary Movement	0	1	1
	Royal Loyal Progress	0	1	1
Total		34	33	67

November 2021 election

Main article: 2021 South African municipal elections

The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.[7]

Party		Ward			List			Total seats
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
	African National Congress	25,019	30.84	21	25,658	31.76	1	22
	Inkatha Freedom Party	19,518	24.06	6	21,712	26.88	12	18
	Economic Freedom Fighters	9,746	12.01	0	9,775	12.10	8	8
	Team Sugar South Africa	8,167	10.07	2	8,541	10.57	5	7
	Democratic Alliance	6,146	7.58	4	6,109	7.56	1	5
	ActionSA	2,772	3.42	1	2,898	3.59	2	3
	Independent candidates	3,855	4.75	0				0
	Freedom Front Plus	990	1.22	0	978	1.21	1	1
	National Freedom Party	846	1.04	0	966	1.20	1	1
	Patriotic Alliance	614	0.76	0	560	0.69	1	1
	African Transformation Movement	467	0.58	0	499	0.62	1	1
	Abantu Batho Congress	526	0.65	0	356	0.44	0	0
	People's Revolutionary Movement	442	0.54	0	385	0.48	0	0
	African Freedom Revolution	397	0.49	0	404	0.50	0	0
	Royal Loyal Progress	364	0.45	0	339	0.42	0	0
	KZN Independence	154	0.19	0	447	0.55	0	0
	Al Jama-ah	165	0.20	0	165	0.20	0	0
	Azanian People's Organisation	132	0.16	0	181	0.22	0	0
	Congress of the People	136	0.17	0	142	0.18	0	0
	Community Freedom Party	175	0.22	0	92	0.11	0	0
	African People's Movement	141	0.17	0	111	0.14	0	0
	Pan Africanist Congress of Azania	90	0.11	0	157	0.19	0	0
	African Mantungwa Community	110	0.14	0	130	0.16	0	0
	African People's Convention	105	0.13	0	73	0.09	0	0
	National Democratic Convention	30	0.04	0	41	0.05	0	0
	Black First Land First	9	0.01	0	37	0.05	0	0
	Bolsheviks Party of South Africa	1	0.00	0	24	0.03	0	0
Total		81,117	100.00	34	80,780	100.00	33	67
Valid votes		81,117	97.90		80,780	97.89
Invalid/blank votes		1,740	2.10		1,741	2.11
Total votes		82,857	100.00		82,521	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		181,563	45.64		181,563	45.45

The IFP took control of the municipality by entering into agreement with the DA, Team Sugar and other parties.[8][9]

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.[10]

Date	Ward	Party of the previous councillor		Party of the newly elected councillor
15 February 2023[11]	31		Team Sugar South Africa		Team Sugar South Africa
14 February 2024[12]	11		African National Congress		Inkatha Freedom Party
13 March 2024[13]	12		African National Congress		Inkatha Freedom Party
13 March 2024[13]	19		African National Congress		Inkatha Freedom Party
13 March 2024[13]	23		African National Congress		Inkatha Freedom Party
19 June 2024[14]	5		African National Congress		Democratic Alliance
17 July 2024[1]	28		Team Sugar South Africa		Inkatha Freedom Party

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:[1]

Party	Ward	List	Total
Inkatha Freedom Party	11	12	23
African National Congress	16	1	17
Economic Freedom Fighters	0	8	8
Team Sugar South Africa	1	5	6
Democratic Alliance	5	1	6
ActionSA	1	2	3
Freedom Front Plus	0	1	1
National Freedom Party	0	1	1
Patriotic Alliance	0	1	1
African Transformation Movement	0	1	1
Total	34	33	67

References

1. Sussman, Wayne (18 July 2024). "IFP deals bitter setback for Team Sugar, MK in KZN wards". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
2. "Election Result Table for LGE2000 — Newcastle". wikitable.frith.dev. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
3. "Election Result Table for LGE2006 — Newcastle". wikitable.frith.dev. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
4. "Election Result Table for LGE2011 — Newcastle". wikitable.frith.dev. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
5. "Election Result Table for LGE2016 — Newcastle". wikitable.frith.dev. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
6. "Results of the Municipal By-Elections held on 05 April 2017". Electoral Commission of South Africa. 6 April 2017. furthermore an independent candidate won a seat previously held by the African National Congress
7. "Election Result Table for LGE2021 — Newcastle". wikitable.frith.dev. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
8. "ANC-IFP co-operation in KZN on the brink". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
9. "ANC is desperate says analyst after ruling party suffered heavy losses in key municipalities in KZN". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
10. "Municipal By-elections results". Electoral Commission of South Africa. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
11. Sussman, Wayne (16 February 2023). "FEBRUARY BY-ELECTIONS: Team Sugar deals bittersweet blow to ANC as small local parties offer blueprint for staying relevant". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
12. Sussman, Wayne (15 February 2024). "MK party snatches votes from ANC in second Zululand scare". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
13. Sussman, Wayne (14 March 2024). "IFP trounces ANC again in KZN, sweeping three wards". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
14. Sussman, Wayne (20 June 2024). "IFP builds on strong KZN poll showing with more solid wins". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 20 June 2024.