Election day Wed 4 Nov

Checked 16 October 2026

Where the facts about Big Five Hlabisa come from

Every fact on the Big Five Hlabisa page, with the sources we used. We save a copy of each source on the day we read it.

Back to the Big Five Hlabisa page

Which party controls the council?

Dated reports

On the council's website, no date shown: Cllr C.T. Khumalo is executive mayor (a mayor who makes many of the council's decisions), the municipality's home page says.

Big 5 Hlabisa Municipality (home page) (opens in a new tab)

Big Five Hlabisa Local Municipality. Page is undated.

Where to look: banner 'Executive Mayor, Cllr. C. T. Khumalo' (undated, read 2026-10-18)

Saved copy: not added yetOfficial record

As of 31 Aug 2025: Cllr CT Khumalo was mayor, Cllr HT Nkosi was deputy mayor and Cllr BW Shangase was speaker (the councillor who chairs council meetings). This is from the audited annual financial statements (accounts checked by an auditor) for the year ended 30 June 2025. They do not state the parties.

Big Five Hlabisa Local Municipality audited annual financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2025 (opens in a new tab)

Big Five Hlabisa Local Municipality. Published 31 August 2025.

Where to look: page 1, General Information; approval on page 4 dated 31 August 2025

Saved copy: not added yetOfficial record

As of 9 Nov 2021: Comfort Thembitshe Khumalo was elected as an IFP proportional representation councillor in Big Five Hlabisa in 2021. A PR councillor is a councillor a party gets from its list, to match its share of the votes. Khumalo was number 1 on the list.

LGE2021 Councillor Lists - 9 Nov 2021 (opens in a new tab)

Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Published 9 November 2021.

Where to look: KwaZulu-Natal, KZN276 - Big Five Hlabisa, IFP, PR(1), KHUMALO COMFORT THEMBITSHE

Saved copy Official record

How were the seats split?

The 2021 result

Who won the 27 seats in 2021.

LGE 2021 Seat Calculation Detail: KZN276 Big Five Hlabisa (opens in a new tab)

Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Page is undated.

Where to look: p. 2 of 2, seat table, Total Party Seats column

Saved copy Official record

Every party

The seats now, by party (ward seats and party seats). Inkatha Freedom Party: 15 (13 ward, 2 party). African National Congress: 9 (0 ward, 9 party). Economic Freedom Fighters: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). National Freedom Party: 1 (0 ward, 1 party).

IEC Results Dashboard: municipal by-elections (opens in a new tab)

Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Published 24 June 2026.

Where to look: winning party per ward for every by-election since 2021 (dashboard data files: MapsJason/2021/ByElections.js and LoadCouncillorsService); read 2026-10-18

Saved copy Official record
LGE 2021 Councillor Lists (9 Nov 2021) (opens in a new tab)

Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Published 9 November 2021.

Where to look: ward councillor rows for this council (party per ward elected in 2021)

Saved copy Official record

The seats now

Who holds the 27 seats now, counted up to 24 Jun 2026. How we count: This is our own count, not an official IEC table. We start with the 2021 party seats from the IEC. Then we add the party that last won each ward, in 2021 or in a by-election. Party seats stay with their party, and councillors can't switch parties. So only ward by-elections change these totals. An empty seat is counted with the party that last held it. The IEC lists by-elections on 5 Oct 2022, but it does not show who won them. So any ward that changed hands that day is not counted.

IEC Results Dashboard: municipal by-elections (opens in a new tab)

Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Published 24 June 2026.

Where to look: winning party per ward for every by-election since 2021 (dashboard data files: MapsJason/2021/ByElections.js and LoadCouncillorsService); read 2026-10-18

Saved copy Official record
LGE 2021 Councillor Lists (9 Nov 2021) (opens in a new tab)

Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Published 9 November 2021.

Where to look: ward councillor rows for this council (party per ward elected in 2021)

Saved copy Official record

What the official records say

Audit result

The Auditor-General gave Big Five Hlabisa an unqualified audit opinion with findings for 2024-25. It got the same result in 2023-24.

Consolidated general report on local government audit outcomes 2024-25: Big 5 Hlabisa (opens in a new tab)

Auditor-General of South Africa. Published 24 June 2026.

Where to look: 'Audit outcome for 2024-25' box and the change from 2023-24 under it (audit of separate financial statements, finalised by 30 April 2026)

Saved copy: kept on fileOfficial record