Checked 16 October 2026
Where the facts about Nelson Mandela Bay come from
Every fact on the Nelson Mandela Bay page, with the sources we used. We save a copy of each source on the day we read it.
Back to the Nelson Mandela Bay page
Who is the mayor, and which parties run the council?
Babalwa Lobishe (ANC)
Mayor from 31 Oct 2024 to now. Parties running the council: ANC, EFF, PAC, Northern Alliance, Defenders of the People, African Independent Congress.
EWN. Published 31 October 2024.
Where to look: Paragraph 1 (ANC councillor Lobishe elected uncontested as mayor); paragraph 2 (she resigned as deputy mayor on Thursday morning); paragraph after the 'ALSO READ' link (Van Niekerk elected deputy mayor unopposed)
Daily Maverick. Published 21 July 2026.
Where to look: Paragraph 6 (AIM's Khusta Jack resigned from the coalition in May); paragraph 7 (ANC 47 in coalition with EFF 7, NA 3, Defenders of the People 2, PAC 1 and AIC 1, with UDM voting support; 62 of 120 seats). Paragraph 1 is the first body paragraph after the standfirst.
Daily Maverick. Published 13 September 2026.
Where to look: Paragraph 5 (three government changes since 2021); paragraph 11 (coalition partners the EFF, PAC, Northern Alliance and AIC); paragraph 14 (EFF leads Electricity and Energy, and Budget and Treasury). Paragraph 1 is the first body paragraph after the standfirst.
Gary van Niekerk (Northern Alliance)
Mayor from 26 May 2023 to 31 Oct 2024. Parties running the council: ANC, EFF, PAC, Northern Alliance, African Independent Congress.
TimesLIVE. Published 26 May 2023.
Where to look: Paragraph 1 (Northern Alliance councillor Van Niekerk elected mayor on Friday); paragraph 2 (third mayor since the 2021 elections); paragraph 4 (64 votes to 55)
Daily Maverick. Published 28 May 2023.
Where to look: Paragraph 1 (Van Niekerk voted in on Friday after the DA-led council lost a motion of no confidence); paragraph 3 (Lobishe elected deputy mayor); paragraph 7 (AIC, Northern Alliance and PAC voted with the ANC and EFF)
Daily Maverick. Published 31 October 2024.
Where to look: Paragraph 1 (Van Niekerk and deputy mayor Lobishe resigned); paragraph 2 (they are expected to swap jobs)
Retief Odendaal (DA)
Mayor from 22 Sep 2022 to 26 May 2023. Parties running the council: DA, ACDP, FF+, UDM, PAC, African Independent Congress, Abantu Integrity Movement, Northern Alliance.
Sowetan. Published 22 September 2022.
Where to look: Paragraph 1 (Odendaal elected mayor); paragraph 2 (coalition deal of the DA, ACDP, AIC, Abantu Integrity Movement, FF Plus, PAC and UDM)
eNCA. Published 22 September 2022.
Where to look: Lines 2-3 of the article text (Odendaal beat the ANC's Wandisile Jikeka 60 to 59; vote in the early hours of Thursday)
TimesLIVE. Published 26 May 2023.
Where to look: Paragraphs 3 and 5 (Odendaal voted out as mayor earlier at the same Friday meeting)
Daily Maverick. Published 28 May 2023.
Where to look: Paragraph 10 (PAC, Northern Alliance and AIC broke their coalition agreement with the DA and its remaining partners, the FF Plus, UDM, ACDP and AIM)
Eugene Johnson (ANC)
Mayor from 22 Nov 2021 to 21 Sep 2022. Parties running the council: ANC, GOOD, UDM, PAC, Abantu Integrity Movement, Defenders of the People, Northern Alliance.
Business Day. Published 22 November 2021.
Where to look: Paragraph 1 (Johnson elected executive mayor, beat the DA's Nqaba Bhanga by one vote); paragraph 3 (Gary van Niekerk of the Northern Alliance elected Speaker)
Daily Maverick. Published 22 November 2021.
Where to look: Paragraph 7 (Good, AIM, UDM, Defenders of the People, Northern Alliance and PAC joined the ANC in a coalition government, 10 seats); paragraph 9 (PA 'has partnered with the ANC nationally')
Sowetan. Published 22 September 2022.
Where to look: Paragraph 1 (Johnson 'was voted out on Wednesday', i.e. 21 Sep 2022)
eNCA. Published 22 September 2022.
Where to look: Lines 5-6 of the article text ('Mayor Eugene Johnson was removed through a no-confidence motion'; 62 for, 58 against, ACDP-led motion), counted with the 'READ' link line as line 4
Dated reports
As of 30 Sep 2026: In September 2026 the Nelson Mandela Bay council held a special meeting. It was the last one of the 2021-2026 term. Babalwa Lobishe was executive mayor at that time. An executive mayor makes many of the council's decisions.
The Herald. Published 30 September 2026.
Where to look: photo caption ('Executive Mayor Babalwa Lobishe') and paragraphs 1-3 and 7 ('Mayor Babalwa Lobishe opted to skip the sitting')
As of 13 Sep 2026: Mayor Babalwa Lobishe gave the State of the Metro address on 10 September 2026. This is a speech on how the city is doing. Daily Maverick names the partners in the coalition led by the ANC. They are the EFF, PAC, Northern Alliance and African Independent Congress.
Daily Maverick. Published 13 September 2026.
Where to look: paragraphs 3, 8 and 11 ('Coalition partners the EFF, PAC, Northern Alliance and African Independent Congress')
As of 7 Aug 2026: The DA and FF Plus said they would not support a GOOD motion of no confidence in mayor Babalwa Lobishe. She has been mayor since October 2024.
eNCA. Published 7 August 2026.
Where to look: paragraphs 1, 6 and 8
As of 21 Jul 2026: The ANC (47 seats) runs Nelson Mandela Bay in a coalition. The partners include the EFF (7), the Northern Alliance (3) and other parties. Together, the coalition partners hold 62 of the council's 120 seats. Babalwa Lobishe is mayor. Gary van Niekerk is deputy mayor.
Daily Maverick. Published 21 July 2026.
Where to look: paragraphs 1-2 (mayor, deputy mayor, 'ANC-led coalition government') and paragraph 7 (seat counts, '62 of the council's 120 seats')
As of 31 Mar 2026: Two motions of no confidence in mayor Babalwa Lobishe failed in council.
Daily Maverick. Published 31 March 2026.
Where to look: paragraph 1
As of 12 Mar 2026: Babalwa Lobishe (ANC) is mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay.
News24. Published 12 March 2026.
Where to look: paragraph 1 ('Nelson Mandela Bay Metro ANC Mayor Babalwa Lobishe')
As of 31 Oct 2024: ANC regional chair Babalwa Lobishe was elected mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay with no one standing against her.
The Herald. Published 31 October 2024.
Where to look: headline and standfirst (article body paywalled)
How were the seats split?
The 2021 result
Who won the 120 seats in 2021.
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Page is undated.
Where to look: pp. 3-4 of 4, seat table, Total Party Seats column
Every party
The seats now, by party (ward seats and party seats). African National Congress: 48 (37 ward, 11 party). Democratic Alliance: 48 (23 ward, 25 party). Economic Freedom Fighters: 8 (0 ward, 8 party). Northern Alliance: 3 (0 ward, 3 party). African Christian Democratic Party: 2 (0 ward, 2 party). Defenders of the People: 2 (0 ward, 2 party). Patriotic Alliance: 2 (0 ward, 2 party). Freedom Front Plus: 2 (0 ward, 2 party). Abantu Integrity Movement: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). African Independent Congress: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). GOOD: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). Pan Africanist Congress of Azania: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). United Democratic Movement: 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 120 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 Nelson Mandela Bay 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)
Nothing matches. Try another word.