Drakenstein Municipal Council
# Drakenstein Municipal Council

The Drakenstein Municipal Council is the elected unicameral legislature of the Drakenstein Local Municipality in Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa.

The municipal council consists of sixty-five members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Thirty-three councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in thirty-three wards, while the remaining thirty-two are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received.

The Council was established in the year 2000 and is currently governed by the Democratic Alliance.

## Political control

The following parties/coalitions have governed the council:

| Governing party | Years | Mayor |
| - | - | - |
| New National Party/Democratic Alliance | 2000–2003 | Christian Johannes George Leander (NNP) |
| New National Party/African National Congress | 2003–2006 | Herman Bailey (NNP) |
| African National Congress | 2006–2007 | Charmaine Manuel (ANC) |
| Democratic Alliance/Independent Democrats | 2007–2007 | Koos Louw (DA) |
| African National Congress | 2007–2011 | Charmaine Manuel (ANC) |
| Democratic Alliance | 2011–2016 | Gesie van Deventer (DA) |
| Democratic Alliance | 2016–present | Conrad Poole (DA) |

## Portfolio committees

* MPAC
* Corporate Services
* Financial Services
* Community Services
* Local Labour Forum
* Planning and Economic Development
* Infrastructure Services
* Training and Development
* Appeal
* Budget Steering

## History

From 2000 to 2006, the mayor of the municipality was Christian Johannes George Leander of the NNP. It was divided into twenty-nine wards, with a total of fifty-eight councillors.

After the local government elections of 2006, a coalition was formed by the African National Congress (ANC) and the Independent Democrats (ID), and Charmaine Manuel of the ANC was elected as Mayor with Wilhelm Nothnagel of the ID as Deputy Mayor. The municipality was divided into thirty-one wards, with a total of sixty-one councillors.

In April 2007, the ID broke the coalition, and formed a new coalition with the Democratic Alliance (DA); Koos Louw of the DA was elected Mayor while Nothnagel remained Deputy Mayor.

During the floor crossing period in September 2007, seven councillors (six from the ID, including Nothnagel, and an independent councillor) defected to the ANC, giving the ANC an outright majority (32 of 61 seats) on the council. Charmaine Manuel returned as Mayor, with Nothnagel continuing as deputy.

In the 2011 local government elections the DA managed to turn the tables, and obtained an outright majority on the council, holding 35 seats out of 61. Gesie van Deventer was elected Mayor with Conrad Poole as Deputy Mayor.

In May 2016, Mayor Van Deventer resigned and Deputy Mayor Poole took office as Mayor. Gert Combrink was elected Deputy Mayor.

In the election of 3 August 2016 the Democratic Alliance (DA) obtained a majority of forty-three seats on the council. Conrad Poole was re-elected as Mayor, while Combrink was also re-elected.

## Elections

### Results

The following table shows the composition of the council after past elections and floor-crossing periods.

| Event | ANC | DA | ID | NNP | Other |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2000 election | 25 | 27 | — | — | 6 |
| 2002 floor-crossing | 27 | 11 | — | 17 | 3 |
| 2004 floor-crossing | 37 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 2006 election | 26 | 20 | 10 | — | 5 |
| 2007 floor-crossing | 31 | 20 | 3 | — | 7 |
| 2011 election | 19 | 35 | — | — | 7 |
| 2016 election | 15 | 43 | — | — | 7 |
| 2021 election | 13 | 36 | — | — | 16 |

### December 2000 election

The following table shows the results of the 2000 election.

| Party | Party | Ward | Ward | Ward | List | List | List | Total seats |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Total seats |
| | Democratic Alliance | 23,166 | 44.66 | 16 | 23,970 | 46.68 | 11 | 27 |
| | African National Congress | 21,984 | 42.38 | 13 | 22,273 | 43.38 | 12 | 25 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 2,344 | 4.52 | 0 | 2,272 | 4.42 | 3 | 3 |
| | Alliance for the Community | 2,175 | 4.19 | 0 | 1,776 | 3.46 | 2 | 2 |
| | Independent candidates | 1,577 | 3.04 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | United Democratic Movement | 517 | 1.00 | 0 | 691 | 1.35 | 1 | 1 |
| | Inkatha Freedom Party | 113 | 0.22 | 0 | 364 | 0.71 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 51,876 | 100.00 | 29 | 51,346 | 100.00 | 29 | 58 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 51,876 | 98.57 | | 51,346 | 97.98 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 751 | 1.43 | | 1,060 | 2.02 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 52,627 | 100.00 | | 52,406 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 93,206 | 56.46 | | 93,206 | 56.23 | | |

**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 Drakenstein council, the Democratic Alliance (DA) lost fifteen councillors to the New National Party (NNP), which had formerly been part of the DA. The DA also lost one councillor to the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), while the ACDP in turn lost two councillors to the African National Congress. The two councillors representing the Alliance for the Community crossed to the NNP.

| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after |
| - | - | - | - |
| African National Congress | 25 | 2 | 27 |
| New National Party | – | 17 | 17 |
| Democratic Alliance | 27 | 16 | 11 |
| African Christian Democratic Party | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| United Democratic Movement | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Alliance for the Community | 2 | 2 | 0 |

**September 2004 floor crossing**

Another floor-crossing period occurred on 1–15 September 2004. Ten of the seventeen NNP councillors crossed to the ANC, three crossed to the Independent Democrats (ID), and two crossed to the DA. One councillor crossed from the African Christian Democratic Party to the Federation of Democrats, a new party.

| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after |
| - | - | - | - |
| African National Congress | 27 | 10 | 37 |
| Democratic Alliance | 11 | 2 | 13 |
| Independent Democrats | – | 3 | 3 |
| New National Party | 17 | 15 | 2 |
| African Christian Democratic Party | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| United Democratic Movement | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Federation of Democrats | – | 1 | 1 |

**By-elections from September 2004 to February 2006**

The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the floor crossing periods in September 2004 and the election in March 2006.

| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 11 May 2005 | 27 | | African National Congress | | African National Congress |
| 12 October 2005 | 11 | | Democratic Alliance | | African National Congress |

### March 2006 election

The following table shows the results of the 2006 election.

| Party | Party | Ward | Ward | Ward | List | List | List | Total seats |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Total seats |
| | African National Congress | 21,062 | 42.41 | 19 | 20,779 | 41.81 | 7 | 26 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 15,632 | 31.48 | 9 | 16,117 | 32.43 | 11 | 20 |
| | Independent Democrats | 7,968 | 16.04 | 3 | 7,976 | 16.05 | 7 | 10 |
| | Western Cape Community | 1,163 | 2.34 | 0 | 1,739 | 3.50 | 2 | 2 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 1,152 | 2.32 | 0 | 1,154 | 2.32 | 1 | 1 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 701 | 1.41 | 0 | 750 | 1.51 | 1 | 1 |
| | Independent candidates | 1,145 | 2.31 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | Federation of Democrats | 437 | 0.88 | 0 | 331 | 0.67 | 1 | 1 |
| | United Independent Front | 215 | 0.43 | 0 | 260 | 0.52 | 0 | 0 |
| | United Democratic Movement | 100 | 0.20 | 0 | 374 | 0.75 | 0 | 0 |
| | Pan Africanist Congress of Azania | 88 | 0.18 | 0 | 217 | 0.44 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 49,663 | 100.00 | 31 | 49,697 | 100.00 | 30 | 61 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 49,663 | 98.77 | | 49,697 | 98.78 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 617 | 1.23 | | 613 | 1.22 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 50,280 | 100.00 | | 50,310 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 100,552 | 50.00 | | 100,552 | 50.03 | | |

**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 previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 6 December 2006 | 23 | | Democratic Alliance | | Democratic Alliance |
| 27 June 2007 | 27 | | African National Congress | | Independent Democrats |

**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 Drakenstein council, the Independent Democrats lost five councillors to the African National Congress (ANC) and three to the new National People's Party. The single councillor from the Federation of Democrats also crossed to the ANC.

| Party | Seats before | Net change | Seats after |
| - | - | - | - |
| African National Congress | 25 | 6 | 31 |
| Democratic Alliance | 20 | 0 | 20 |
| Independent Democrats | 11 | 8 | 3 |
| National People's Party | — | 3 | 3 |
| Western Cape Community | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| African Christian Democratic Party | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Freedom Front Plus | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Federation of Democrats | 1 | 1 | 0 |

**By-elections from September 2007 to May 2011**

The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the floor crossing period in September 2007 and the election in May 2011.

| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor |
| - | - | - | - |
| 10 December 2008 | 7 | African National Congress | Independent Democrats |
| 10 December 2008 | 21 | African National Congress | Independent |
| 10 December 2008 | 26 | African National Congress | Democratic Alliance |
| 10 December 2008 | 28 | African National Congress | Democratic Alliance |
| 10 December 2008 | 30 | African National Congress | Independent Democrats |

### May 2011 election

The following table shows the results of the 2011 election.

Total seats :

| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Total seats |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Democratic Alliance | 41,828 | 56.17 | 22 | 42,707 | 57.58 | 13 | 35 |
| | African National Congress | 22,604 | 30.36 | 9 | 23,214 | 31.30 | 10 | 19 |
| | National People's Party | 2,833 | 3.80 | 0 | 2,691 | 3.63 | 2 | 2 |
| | Congress of the People | 2,304 | 3.09 | 0 | 2,336 | 3.15 | 2 | 2 |
| | Independent candidates | 1,743 | 2.34 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 679 | 0.91 | 0 | 801 | 1.08 | 1 | 1 |
| | South African Progressive Civic Organisation | 564 | 0.76 | 0 | 502 | 0.68 | 1 | 1 |
| | People's Democratic Movement | 551 | 0.74 | 0 | 459 | 0.62 | 1 | 1 |
| | United Christian Democratic Party | 329 | 0.44 | 0 | 283 | 0.38 | 0 | 0 |
| | Khoisan Party | 262 | 0.35 | 0 | 298 | 0.40 | 0 | 0 |
| | Democratic Christian Party | 207 | 0.28 | 0 | 307 | 0.41 | 0 | 0 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 298 | 0.40 | 0 | 214 | 0.29 | 0 | 0 |
| | African Bond of Unity | 146 | 0.20 | 0 | 120 | 0.16 | 0 | 0 |
| | Western Cape Community | 93 | 0.12 | 0 | 113 | 0.15 | 0 | 0 |
| | National Independent Civic Organisation | 22 | 0.03 | 0 | 124 | 0.17 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 74,463 | 100.00 | 31 | 74,169 | 100.00 | 30 | 61 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 74,463 | 99.10 | | 74,169 | 98.81 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 674 | 0.90 | | 893 | 1.19 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 75,137 | 100.00 | | 75,062 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 115,089 | 65.29 | | 115,089 | 65.22 | | |

**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 |
| - | - | - | - |
| 18 September 2013 | 6 | African National Congress | African National Congress |
| 5 November 2014 | 16 | African National Congress | African National Congress |
| 11 November 2015 | 14 | African National Congress | Democratic Alliance |

### August 2016 election

The following table shows the results of the 2016 election.

| Party | Party | Ward | Ward | Ward | List | List | List | Total seats |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Total seats |
| | Democratic Alliance | 54,491 | 66.30 | 26 | 54,193 | 65.75 | 17 | 43 |
| | African National Congress | 17,858 | 21.73 | 6 | 20,975 | 25.45 | 9 | 15 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 1,988 | 2.42 | 0 | 1,901 | 2.31 | 2 | 2 |
| | People's Democratic Movement | 2,349 | 2.86 | 1 | 291 | 0.35 | 0 | 1 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 1,180 | 1.44 | 0 | 1,085 | 1.32 | 1 | 1 |
| | Federation of Democrats | 685 | 0.83 | 0 | 543 | 0.66 | 1 | 1 |
| | Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa | 638 | 0.78 | 0 | 578 | 0.70 | 1 | 1 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 593 | 0.72 | 0 | 551 | 0.67 | 1 | 1 |
| | Congress of the People | 597 | 0.73 | 0 | 503 | 0.61 | 0 | 0 |
| | Alliance for Democratic Freedom | 526 | 0.64 | 0 | 467 | 0.57 | 0 | 0 |
| | South African Progressive Civic Organisation | 461 | 0.56 | 0 | 410 | 0.50 | 0 | 0 |
| | Community Party | 269 | 0.33 | 0 | 197 | 0.24 | 0 | 0 |
| | Pan Africanist Congress of Azania | 168 | 0.20 | 0 | 227 | 0.28 | 0 | 0 |
| | Khoisan Revolution | 189 | 0.23 | 0 | 170 | 0.21 | 0 | 0 |
| | Patriotic Alliance | 124 | 0.15 | 0 | 174 | 0.21 | 0 | 0 |
| | Peoples Alliance | 31 | 0.04 | 0 | 64 | 0.08 | 0 | 0 |
| | South Africa People's Party | 32 | 0.04 | 0 | 44 | 0.05 | 0 | 0 |
| | Civic Independent | 11 | 0.01 | 0 | 48 | 0.06 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent candidates | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| Total | Total | 82,190 | 100.00 | 33 | 82,421 | 100.00 | 32 | 65 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 82,190 | 98.41 | | 82,421 | 98.73 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 1,329 | 1.59 | | 1,056 | 1.27 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 83,519 | 100.00 | | 83,477 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 129,265 | 64.61 | | 129,265 | 64.58 | | |

**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 previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 11 November 2020 | 3 | | Democratic Alliance | | Democratic Alliance |

### November 2021 election

The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.

| Party | Party | Ward | Ward | Ward | List | List | List | Total seats |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Total seats |
| | Democratic Alliance | 36,387 | 54.92 | 26 | 37,194 | 55.90 | 10 | 36 |
| | African National Congress | 12,888 | 19.45 | 7 | 13,143 | 19.75 | 6 | 13 |
| | Good | 3,768 | 5.69 | 0 | 3,991 | 6.00 | 4 | 4 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 3,465 | 5.23 | 0 | 3,036 | 4.56 | 3 | 3 |
| | Concerned Drakenstein Residents | 2,922 | 4.41 | 0 | 2,717 | 4.08 | 3 | 3 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 1,362 | 2.06 | 0 | 1,329 | 2.00 | 1 | 1 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 1,283 | 1.94 | 0 | 1,294 | 1.94 | 1 | 1 |
| | Patriotic Alliance | 807 | 1.22 | 0 | 845 | 1.27 | 1 | 1 |
| | Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa | 773 | 1.17 | 0 | 738 | 1.11 | 1 | 1 |
| | Pan Africanist Congress of Azania | 585 | 0.88 | 0 | 562 | 0.84 | 1 | 1 |
| | Al Jama-ah | 410 | 0.62 | 0 | 379 | 0.57 | 1 | 1 |
| | National Freedom Party | 264 | 0.40 | 0 | 282 | 0.42 | 0 | 0 |
| | Cape Independence Party | 229 | 0.35 | 0 | 244 | 0.37 | 0 | 0 |
| | Africa Restoration Alliance | 250 | 0.38 | 0 | 215 | 0.32 | 0 | 0 |
| | People's Democratic Movement | 185 | 0.28 | 0 | 195 | 0.29 | 0 | 0 |
| | Transforming Drakenstein Community Forum | 159 | 0.24 | 0 | 159 | 0.24 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent candidates | 207 | 0.31 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | Cape Coloured Congress | 151 | 0.23 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | Spectrum National Party | 42 | 0.06 | 0 | 96 | 0.14 | 0 | 0 |
| | Community Party | 63 | 0.10 | 0 | 60 | 0.09 | 0 | 0 |
| | African Covenant | 50 | 0.08 | 0 | 61 | 0.09 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 66,250 | 100.00 | 33 | 66,540 | 100.00 | 32 | 65 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 66,250 | 99.14 | | 66,540 | 99.11 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 573 | 0.86 | | 598 | 0.89 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 66,823 | 100.00 | | 67,138 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 131,182 | 50.94 | | 131,182 | 51.18 | | |

**By-elections from November 2021**

The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period from November 2021.

| Date | Ward | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the previous councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor | Party of the newly elected councillor |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 23 November 2022 | 17 | | Democratic Alliance | | Democratic Alliance |
