Checked 16 October 2026
Where the facts about Mahikeng come from
Every fact on the Mahikeng page, with the sources we used. We save a copy of each source on the day we read it.
Which party controls the council?
Dated reports
On the council's website, no date shown: Councillor Tshepiso Mphehlo is Executive Mayor, according to the municipality's Office of the Executive Mayor page.
Mahikeng Local Municipality. Page is undated.
Where to look: undated, read 2026-10-16 (metadata modified 2023-07-17, footer copyright 2025); page heading; no party shown
As of 16 Sep 2026: Councillor Tshepiso Mphehlo is executive mayor of Mahikeng, a municipal news item dated 16 September 2026 says. Councillor Gagoangwe Mathe is speaker.
Mahikeng Local Municipality. Published 16 September 2026.
Where to look: homepage News and Events, item dated 16/09/2026, paragraph 2
As of 6 Jan 2026: Audited financial statements (checked by auditors) for the year to 30 June 2025 name T Mphehlo as Executive Mayor of Mahikeng. They name OGB Mathe as Speaker.
Mahikeng Local Municipality. Published 6 January 2026.
Where to look: General Information, pp. 2-3 ('Executive Mayor T MPHEHLO', 'Speaker OGB MATHE'); no parties shown; date is the upload timestamp in the file name
As of 5 May 2022: The EFF won Ward 5 (Lomanyaneng) from the ANC in a by-election (a vote to fill one empty ward seat). The new council was the ANC (39 seats), the EFF (18), the DA (5), F4SD (2) and UCDP (2). It also had FF Plus (1), PA (1), ACDP (1) and AIC (1). In total, that is 70 seats. So the ANC kept a majority.
Daily Maverick. Published 5 May 2022.
Where to look: Ward 5 (Lomanyaneng) Mafikeng section: result line and 'New Mafikeng council composition' line
As of 9 Nov 2021: Tshepiso Mphehlo was elected to the Mahikeng council in 2021. Mphehlo was elected as an ANC PR councillor (a seat a party gets from its list, to match its share of the votes).
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Published 9 November 2021.
Where to look: NW383 - Mafikeng, African National Congress, PR(3): MPHEHLO TSHEPISO
How were the seats split?
The 2021 result
Who won the 70 seats in 2021.
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Page is undated.
Where to look: p. 3 of 3, seat table, Total Party Seats column
Every party
The seats now, by party (ward seats and party seats). African National Congress: 39 (34 ward, 5 party). Economic Freedom Fighters: 18 (1 ward, 17 party). Democratic Alliance: 5 (0 ward, 5 party). Forum 4 Service Delivery: 2 (0 ward, 2 party). United Christian Democratic Party: 2 (0 ward, 2 party). African Christian Democratic Party: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). African Independent Congress: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). Patriotic Alliance: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). Freedom Front Plus: 1 (0 ward, 1 party).
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
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)
The seats now
Who holds the 70 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.
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
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)
What the official records say
Audit result
The Auditor-General gave Mahikeng a qualified audit opinion for 2024-25. It got the same result in 2023-24.
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)
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