The Bela-Bela Local Municipality is a Local Municipality in Limpopo, South Africa. The council consists of seventeen members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Nine councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in nine wards, while the remaining eight 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) won a majority of ten seats.
The following table shows the composition of the council after past elections.
The following table shows the results of the 2006 election.[1]
| Party | Ward | List | Total seats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||
| African National Congress | 8,537 | 77.08 | 7 | 8,600 | 77.30 | 5 | 12 | |
| Democratic Alliance | 1,348 | 12.17 | 1 | 1,520 | 13.66 | 1 | 2 | |
| Onafhanklike Munisipale Kiesersforum | 700 | 6.32 | 0 | 525 | 4.72 | 1 | 1 | |
| African Christian Democratic Party | 187 | 1.69 | 0 | 202 | 1.82 | 0 | 0 | |
| Pan Africanist Congress of Azania | 179 | 1.62 | 0 | 144 | 1.29 | 0 | 0 | |
| United Democratic Movement | 125 | 1.13 | 0 | 134 | 1.20 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 11,076 | 100.00 | 8 | 11,125 | 100.00 | 7 | 15 | |
| Valid votes | 11,076 | 97.81 | 11,125 | 98.23 | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 248 | 2.19 | 200 | 1.77 | ||||
| Total votes | 11,324 | 100.00 | 11,325 | 100.00 | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 25,152 | 45.02 | 25,152 | 45.03 | ||||
The following table shows the results of the 2011 election.[2]
| Party | Ward | List | Total seats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||
| African National Congress | 10,610 | 64.16 | 7 | 11,816 | 74.85 | 5 | 12 | |
| Democratic Alliance | 3,668 | 22.18 | 1 | 3,759 | 23.81 | 3 | 4 | |
| Independent candidates | 1,941 | 11.74 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Congress of the People | 185 | 1.12 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Pan Africanist Congress of Azania | 51 | 0.31 | 0 | 130 | 0.82 | 0 | 0 | |
| African Christian Democratic Party | 81 | 0.49 | 0 | 82 | 0.52 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 16,536 | 100.00 | 9 | 15,787 | 100.00 | 8 | 17 | |
| Valid votes | 16,536 | 98.04 | 15,787 | 95.05 | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 331 | 1.96 | 823 | 4.95 | ||||
| Total votes | 16,867 | 100.00 | 16,610 | 100.00 | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 28,329 | 59.54 | 28,329 | 58.63 | ||||
The following table shows the results of the 2016 election.[3]
| Party | Ward | List | Total seats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||
| African National Congress | 8,410 | 51.25 | 7 | 8,509 | 51.79 | 2 | 9 | |
| Democratic Alliance | 4,461 | 27.18 | 2 | 4,471 | 27.21 | 3 | 5 | |
| Economic Freedom Fighters | 2,121 | 12.92 | 0 | 2,168 | 13.20 | 2 | 2 | |
| Bushbuckridge Residents Association | 928 | 5.65 | 0 | 940 | 5.72 | 1 | 1 | |
| Independent candidates | 211 | 1.29 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Ubuntu Party | 85 | 0.52 | 0 | 94 | 0.57 | 0 | 0 | |
| Congress of the People | 88 | 0.54 | 0 | 70 | 0.43 | 0 | 0 | |
| South African Christian Movement | 39 | 0.24 | 0 | 82 | 0.50 | 0 | 0 | |
| African Christian Democratic Party | 25 | 0.15 | 0 | 60 | 0.37 | 0 | 0 | |
| Pan Africanist Congress of Azania | 43 | 0.26 | 0 | 35 | 0.21 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 16,411 | 100.00 | 9 | 16,429 | 100.00 | 8 | 17 | |
| Valid votes | 16,411 | 98.19 | 16,429 | 98.13 | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 303 | 1.81 | 313 | 1.87 | ||||
| Total votes | 16,714 | 100.00 | 16,742 | 100.00 | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 30,212 | 55.32 | 30,212 | 55.42 | ||||
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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 July 2018 | 8 | Democratic Alliance | African National Congress | ||
In a by-election held on 17 July 2018, a ward previously held by a DA councillor was won by an ANC candidate.[4] Council composition was reconfigured as seen below:
| Party | Ward | PR list | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| African National Congress | 8 | 2 | 10 | |
| DA | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Economic Freedom Fighters | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| Bushbuckridge Residents Association | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 9 | 8 | 17 | |
The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.[5]
| Party | Ward | List | Total seats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||
| African National Congress | 8,470 | 54.81 | 8 | 8,730 | 56.84 | 2 | 10 | |
| Democratic Alliance | 2,666 | 17.25 | 1 | 2,691 | 17.52 | 2 | 3 | |
| Economic Freedom Fighters | 1,633 | 10.57 | 0 | 1,860 | 12.11 | 2 | 2 | |
| Freedom Front Plus | 1,099 | 7.11 | 0 | 1,132 | 7.37 | 1 | 1 | |
| Better Residents Association | 393 | 2.54 | 0 | 363 | 2.36 | 1 | 1 | |
| Independent candidates | 627 | 4.06 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| African People's Movement | 312 | 2.02 | 0 | 241 | 1.57 | 0 | 0 | |
| Belabela Community Revolution | 94 | 0.61 | 0 | 113 | 0.74 | 0 | 0 | |
| African People's Convention | 78 | 0.50 | 0 | 110 | 0.72 | 0 | 0 | |
| Congress of the People | 60 | 0.39 | 0 | 63 | 0.41 | 0 | 0 | |
| African Transformation Movement | 22 | 0.14 | 0 | 31 | 0.20 | 0 | 0 | |
| Democratic Artists Party | 24 | 0.16 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 15,454 | 100.00 | 9 | 15,358 | 100.00 | 8 | 17 | |
| Valid votes | 15,454 | 98.73 | 15,358 | 98.17 | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 199 | 1.27 | 287 | 1.83 | ||||
| Total votes | 15,653 | 100.00 | 15,645 | 100.00 | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 31,267 | 50.06 | 31,267 | 50.04 | ||||
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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 November 2022 | 7[6] | Democratic Alliance | Freedom Front Plus | ||
In ward 7, a by-election was held after the previous DA councillor resigned. The DA's support dropped from 60% in 2021 to 34%, with the Freedom Front Plus taking the ward, increasing their share from 28% to 57%[7]
