The council of the Overstrand Local Municipality in the Western Cape, South Africa is elected every five years by a system of mixed-member proportional representation. Half of the councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting from individual wards, while the other half are appointed from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received. By-elections are held to replace the councillors elected by wards if a vacancy occurs.
Contents
- December 2000 election
- May 2002 by elections
- October 2002 floor crossing
- September 2004 floor crossing
- March 2006 election
- September 2007 floor crossing
- June 2009 by election
- February 2010 by election
- May 2011 election
- August 2013 by election
- November 2014 by elections
- September 2015 by election
- August 2016 election
- References
December 2000 election
The Overstrand municipality was created in 2000 by merging the Hangklip-Kleinmond, Hermanus, Stanford and Gansbaai municipalities. The council consisted of 18 members, 9 elected to represent wards and 9 from party lists. The election was held on 5 December 2000; the Democratic Alliance won a majority of 12 seats.
May 2002 by-elections
By-elections were held on in Ward 2 and Ward 4 on 15 May 2002. Both wards had previously been represented by Democratic Alliance (DA) councillors, and both wards were held by the DA in the by-elections.
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 Overstrand council, seven councillors departed the Democratic Alliance (DA) to become representatives of the New National Party (NNP). The NNP, which had formerly been part of the DA, then formed a coalition with the African National Congress (ANC); this coalition had a majority of 12 seats.
September 2004 floor crossing
Another floor-crossing period occurred on 1–15 September 2004. In the Overstrand council, 5 councillors crossed from the New National Party (NNP) to the African National Congress (ANC), giving the ANC a majority of 10 seats.
March 2006 election
At the elections of 1 March 2006, the council was expanded to 19 members with the addition of a new ward. The Democratic Alliance won a majority with 10 seats.
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 Overstrand council, the only representative of the African Christian Democratic Party crossed to the Democratic Alliance (DA), giving the DA an increased majority with 11 seats. The only representative of the Independent Democrats, as well as one representative of the African National Congress, crossed to the newly formed National People's Party.
June 2009 by-election
A by-election was held in Ward 3 on 24 June 2009. The ward, which was previously represented by a Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor, was held by the DA.
February 2010 by-election
A by-election was held in Ward 1 on 24 February 2010. The ward, previously represented by an African National Congress councillor, was taken by the Democratic Alliance.
May 2011 election
At the election of 18 May 2011, the council was expanded to 25 members with the addition of 3 new wards and 3 new PR list seats. The Democratic Alliance won a majority with 15 seats.
August 2013 by-election
A by-election was held in Ward 3 on 7 August 2013. The ward, which was previously represented by a Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor, was held by the DA.
November 2014 by-elections
By-elections were held in Ward 2 and Ward 5 on 26 November 2014. Ward 2 was held by the Democratic Alliance (DA) while Ward 5 was held by the African National Congress. A by-election was also scheduled for Ward 7, but it was held uncontested by the DA as no other party nominated a candidate.
September 2015 by-election
A by-election was scheduled for Ward 13 on 30 September 2015, but it was held uncontested by the DA as no other party nominated a candidate.
August 2016 election
At the election of 3 August 2016, the Democratic Alliance won a majority with 16 seats.